You know that saying ‘Objects in the rear-view mirror may appear closer than they are?’ Well, it’s probably how this Celtic side appear to theRangers players and support at this moment in time.
However, if we take our eye off the ball and start focusing on the Glasgow Derby prior to dealing with the next obstacle on the course then we may well fade further into the distance than necessary, indeed we may find we slip out of view altogether.
It’s possible of course that I’m just some Nervous Nerys – well it wouldn’t be Christmas without a nod to Only Fools and Horses – but I can’t be the only one thinking we’ve no right to tempt fate by looking ahead to a Glasgow Derby before we’ve negotiated Dundee United.
I struggle to think of a season for a long, long time where no game has really been a ‘gimme’ for Celtic, but this one is such a season.
It’s been only been four weeks since we were pumped out the League Cup to Ross County, yet a few wins under our belts and we’re counting on three points being bagged before we’ve even set eyes, never mind laid a glove, on Wednesday afternoon’s opponents.
This after all is a United side who kept Celtic very much at arm’s length until our very own Swiss super-sub jumped from the bench and grabbed a winner at Tannadice with only eight minutes remaining.
Whilst Albian Ajeti – who also won man of that match for his 17-minute cameo – which tells a story about how the rest of the team had performed that day – may well be called upon again on Wednesday night, we’d also do well to remember Dundee United, a newly promoted side, are having a hell of a season, whilst the only thing consistent in Celtic’s season has been our own inconsistency. If Celtic were a horse, I’m sure the trainer would be applying a set of blinkers.
United currently sit in fifth place in the Scottish Premiership and considering they are top flight newbies they are proving a tough nut to crack. Particularly through the last couple of months.
United lost back-to-back games by 4-0 scorelines to Kilmarnock and then theRangers at the end of August and beginning of September but since then they’ve not lost by more than a solitary goal, a run stretching across 17 fixtures in all competitions. That included turning a 4-0 defeat to the Ibrox side into a 2-1 defeat recently.
This is a team that is evidencing they are playing better than the last time we faced them, and we struggled a little then. Indeed, in United’s last 12 games they’ve only tasted defeat three times.
This is no minor hurdle Celtic have to negotiate. It may not be an open ditch but it’s a fence we need to be ready and focused on leaping– looking at any obstacles further in the distance would be folly, particularly as we’ve been far from sure footed on the track thus far this season.
We can of course lean on recent form. Wins over Lille, Kilmarnock, Hearts, Ross County and Hamilton have rightly injected self-belief into this team and renewed confidence into the support.
The recent formation changes, to employ both Edouard and Griffiths into the starting line-up, has further fostered a feeling of a corner being turned, and on recent evidence you’d think a home tie against Dundee United should hold no fears.
But this has been no ordinary season and certainly not one where we can be counting our chickens before we face any team. Then again perhaps it’s me that’s chicken. When it comes to Celtic this season, I’ve taken on something of a nervous disposition, I’d probably give Nerys a run for her money.
Niall J
