Brendan Rodgers will be fully focused on Celtic’s match at Paradise on Saturday afternoon against a Hearts side that has already beaten Celtic twice this season.
That will certainly not weigh on the Celtic manager’s shoulders and if anything those defeats in December and March in Celtic’s topsy turvy season will be referenced only in terms of extracting some revenge or delivering payback on a Hearts side that seems to raise it’s game against Celtic but has ‘suffered’ five straight defeats against theRangers this season. They’ll be going for six in a row on the closing day of the campaign when the latest Ibrox club visits Tynecastle.
Brendan Rodgers will be telling his players that a win over Hearts will put all that right. Not only that but it will open a six points advantage and increase the goal difference advantage further ahead of theRangers entertaining Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Sunday.
Anything other than a Celtic win will provide huge encouragement for theRangers and will enliven their support who might start believing again after the dreadful run of form recently that saw them take just two points from nine against Celtic at Ibrox (a 3-3 draw), Ross County in Dingwall (a 3-2 defeat) and Dundee at Dens Park (a 0-0 draw).
Celtic simply motored on collecting points and from chasing position – had Celtic lost at Ibrox they would have needed favours elsewhere to get back into the title race – to being league leaders on the cusp of securing yet another Scottish Premiership title.
This would be Celtic’s 12th title in 13 seasons and the only one that was lost was the behind closed doors season where no supporters were allowed to attend games or celebrate successes. A pitiful excuse for a football season where Celtic suffered more than most because the Celtic support is so important to the team.
All of the best 16 casinos with the highest ratings on CasinoAlpha have a game range of over 150 titles and that’s 149 more than theRangers have won in their entire history since founding father Charles Green got the ball rolling with those big hands of his.
A Celtic victory though makes things harder for the team chasing them and trying to maintain pace to keep the receding title hopes alive. The anxiety from the success starved Ibrox stands will get to the players – and remember the ONLY time they’ve been able to deliver a title was when they were playing in empty stadiums.
Brendan Rodgers is well aware of this, he’s been a course and distance winner of the Scottish Premiership and his head-to-head against any Rangers (dead or alive) is better than any other Celtic manager in the club’s distinguished and unbroken history.
If theRangers falter against Kilmarnock after Celtic take care of their Hearts problem, then that opens the door for a massive green and white title party the following weekend in the final Glasgow Derby in the Scottish Premiership this season at Celtic Park.
A win would wrap up the title and there will be 60,000 Celtic supporters inside Paradise and not a single supporter of theRangers there to cheer on Philippe Clement’s side.
Wins for Celtic and theRangers this weekend will mean that the title cannot be claimed as a mathematical certainty if Celtic win the Glasgow Derby. That outcome would result in Celtic sitting six points clear with a goal difference advantage with two games to go.
Attention would turn to the following midweek and the trip to Rugby Park with Celtic needing point to secure three in a row. And the fall-back position would be the next weekend where Celtic are at home to St Mirren on what will be trophy day, one way or another.
Then a week later we do it all again at Hampden in the first ever Glasgow Derby Scottish Cup Final between holders Celtic and theRangers. A chance to pile on the agony by turning on the style for the Bhoys!
