This isn’t Tyson v Lewis so Sak the pearl clutching!
You’dYo think Fashion Sakala marched into the Hampden press room this week and did an impression of Mike Tyson announcing he wanted to eat LennoxLe Lewis’s children.
Ooft, pearls were being clutchedc all over the shop afteraf the Rangers man called CelticC “the other mob” and thenth claimed his side were betterb than the champions off Scotland.
Listen, Sakala’s second claim is a tough one to stand up in court with the Hoops over the horizon in the league.
But no one should be battering the wee fella for speaking his mind. Far from it.
This kind of fun and games should be encouraged at every opportunity.
If we could inject truth serum into managers and players pre-match we’d have Sky, Amazon, Netflix YouTube and Blockbuster video fighting over the rights for our games.
Instead, it’s so rare football folk actually say what they think, that when they do people end up falling off their chairs and frothing at the month.
Calm down troops. This is show business and it’s about time those in the game realised it. All this guff about unwritten rules and respecting opponents in case they end up looking daft.
Forget about it. OK, Tyson might not be the best example but look at other boxers. They don’t pussyfoot around their opponents ahead of fights.
They can’t afford to. Fighters can’t roll out the usual sleeping-tablet nonsense about it being a tough challenge, need to be at their best, let’s all shake hands and be best of buddies.
No chance. They can’t allow even an atom of doubt to creep into their heads or they’ll end up with their blocks knocked off.
Boxers are full of bravado, they dish out the trash talk and then they step into the ring and perform the hardest of any of the sports.
And bloomin’ good on them. As far as football is concerned, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a pop at your rivals while talking up your own team.
What exactly should Sakala say when asked about who he is facing?
Celtic are better than us? Yeah, that would go down well with his own punters.
If he thinks his team are a cut above “the other mob” then fire away wee man, go and prove it on the pitch.
As for looking silly if he’s wrong? Who cares? Don’t back down, double down. “Yeah, they might have won on the day but I still believe we are better.”
That’s the kind of winning attitude any team needs, even in defeat.
And it’s not like there’s that much between the sides anyway. Celtic do look stronger. They have more strength in depth and they are a side who are trending in an upwards direction.
Rangers have the look of a squad that’s coming to the end of its cycle.
But that doesn’t mean one of them is the Harlem Globetrotters and the other is the Mighty Ducks.
The pair of them have been in formidable form against cannon fodder of late but this is the acid test for both.
You suspect Celtic actually believe about themselves what Sakala feels about his side.
And Rangers will need some of the wee man’s brass neck if they are to back up his big match trash talk.
The wee man should not be battered for just speaking his mind – it is a positive for our game