Re-orientating our expectations

The disappointment online and among supporters in general since Tuesday’s defeat in Rotterdam has been tangible.  That’s an indication of just how hopeful we had become, despite extenuating circumstances and an away track record that should have prepared us for much worse.

Frustrations were shared by the squad, who know they let an opportunity slip.  For me, a reversal was always on the cards.  The game came too soon, with a mixture of players who made their debut just days before and ended with our seventh choice (arguably eighth) central defender stepping up.

We need games and results like that.  There is little to learn from wins over Dundee; even the victory at Ibrox can only inform to an extent.  You learn more from defeats in places like Rotterdam and Bodo than in a season of home Premiership games.

It should also ground you and me.  When Celtic win just-so-many-trophies it becomes difficult not to re-orientate our expectations that the current era is normal.  The CQN demographic suggests most of us have lived through the barren 90s and many of us were there during the 50s and early 60s, but even we get dragged into despair by the odd draw.  What chance the kids?