FOLK who really should know a lot better have been wittering on about “a seismic shift” in power in Glasgow in recent weeks.
That observation is as hysterical as it is hilarious. There has also been talk from a former player of “a little bit of panic” setting in over in the east end of the city.
Okay, you and I both know Celtic were fairly atrocious in the first-half against St Johnstone, there was a mystifying fade at Kilmarnock and the performance against Hearts was totally unacceptable and provoked an apology from Brendan Rodgers afterwards.
THUMB’S UP…Brendan Rodgers hails the 3-0 win over Dundee at Dens Park on Boxing Day.
These things happen in football. We’ve hit stormy seas, but it doesn’t mean the good ship Celtic FC has been holed beneath the waterline. All is not lost, there’s no need to scramble for the lifeboats, “women and children first” and all that palaver.
There is a steady hand on the tiller and the ship has already been steered away from the iceberg.
On the other side of The Great Divide, we have been bombarded about how resurgent our city rivals have been since the appointment of Philippe Clement to replace bumbling Michael Beale in October.
A lot has been made of the fact the Belgian has guided the team to the first piece of domestic silverware up for grabs with the League Cup Final triumph over Aberdeen last month.
I can recall in the not-too-distant past a bloke called Kenny Shiels being hailed to the heavens for leading Kilmarnock to that same trophy. I’ll never be able to fathom how Celtic lost that afternoon in 2012 when the Ayrshire snatched the trophy with their only effort on Fraser Forster’s goal late in the game.
Good old Kenny was a genius as he piloted the club to a bright, new future. Alas, Kenny, the Hampden mastermind, was sacked just over a year later.
One minute a hero, the next a zero. Football is packed with such tales.
The acid test awaits Clement and his players at Parkhead tomorrow afternoon. This is a whole new ballgame from anything he has encountered so far in his brief sojourn in Scotland.
We’ll see how he handles this sort of pressure. Then the critics will have a more realisic foundation from which to launch their declarations.
ALEX GORDON
