We Shall Not Be Moved

Was it really almost 15 years since the only time Celtic beat reigning European champions?  A late goal from Scott McDonald in October 2007 was enough to secure a 2-1 win over Milan in the Champions League.  Two other Scottish clubs had already achieved this (Rangers and Dunfermline, both who beat the 1967 European champions), recording a mark the great Stein sides never did.

The reason I mention this to you is that in the days that followed we were glowing in our new European status.  Then we visited Fir Park.  It wasn’t even Motherwell we faced, it was Gretna, a team from 90 miles south of ML1 who did not have the facilities to compete in the top flight, so travelled the M74 for home games.

Gretna were leading until 85 minutes, when goals from Chris Killen and another late McDonald winner calmed our nerves.

We are now glowing at our great win and performance on Wednesday night.  ‘We shall not be moved’ from the top of the league is the claim.  I heard the same chant from Dingwall on Saturday when Newco took a 2-3 lead; chants don’t win points.  The next game is always the biggest one and for Celtic, the next two, both on the road, are crucially important.

Players are not machines, they cannot climb the mountain every time.  There will be an inevitable fall off in adrenalin at Fir Park.  There are 14 games remaining, seven away from home, every one a cup final in itself.  An acre of Lanarkshire is the stage for our next trophy.  Win and keep belief alive that not by the Hearts, the Hibs or the The Rangers, we shall not be moved!