Firhill is the stage, fickle looking form

You can imagine the anticipation Celtic players as they arrived for training this morning for Saturday’s visit to Firhill. They must be bursting a gut, just desperate to get onto the field and do their stuff. You and I have seen lots of this team, but right now, today, they will have an edge that’s been missing for so long. They have questions to answer, points to prove and a league title to win.

Firhill will be their stage. If anyone at Lennoxtown is in doubt about the job required, I still have my boots, just let me at them.

It’s indicative of where we are that those two draws (Hamilton and Dundee) plunged us into a form crisis. Since the turn of the year we’ve won 9 out of 13 games, failing to win twice with 10 men, once away to our nearest challengers, and that awful Dundee game at Celtic Park. Were it not for the two red cards, I expect the dip in form would be scarcely noticeable.

Over the same period Aberdeen have had a far easier programme, playing only 9 games (in 9 weeks). They’ve won six of these games, including the last two, which has put a more respectable look on their form. It’s still not any better than Celtic’s, though.

We’re still playing fixture catch-up, as we’ve six games in the next five weeks, to Aberdeen’s four, but that’s the price of reaching the latter stages of cup competitions.