Contagion from omnishambles, welcome Brendan

Let’s be clear about this, there are Celtic fans who believe we need a club called Rangers to survive in the manner which we’ve all become accustomed to over the last couple of decades. That without them, we will wither on the vine.

Some of this is correct. In the years following the liquidation of Rangers we lost TV, commercial, mechanise and season ticket income. We play in a league with significantly less competition, which blunts players’ edge and makes Celtic Park a less attractive place to play or be a spectator.

The important question for Celtic fans is what do they actually want from their club? I’ll cope when we were only a few points ahead of Aberdeen, or getting knocked out of the League Cup by Ross County, while being eliminated from Europe by increasingly obscure teams. I’ll still be there supporting my team.

I accept that not everyone will, some of us want the edge of your seat tension – and that’s all right. But I’d ask anyone who pines for the old days to consider the omnishambles of a football team we glimpsed over the weekend. There was no wonder era in the past when we benefited from a great rivalry without destructive contagion.

They were never good for us. Whatever about Celtic is dependent on them is not worth having.

This afternoon we welcome our new manager, Brendan Rodgers, to Celtic Park for the first time. This morning I recalled Ricky Fulton’s words in the video clip below, “It only remains for me to welcome you to the club, Brendan.” A different club, of course, but there’s a morality tale within.