‘Everyone Wanted Us To Fail’, Nir Bitton On 9-In-A-Row

Nir Bitton spoke to BBC Sport Scotland about Celtic’s quest for a ninth consecutive league title today. The Israeli international touched on Celtic’s eight wins on the bounce, and Wednesday night’s draw, which have opened up a 13 point lead at the top of the table. Prior to that superb run, Celtic had been in good form already but did lose 2-1 at home to Steven Gerrard’s ‘Rangers’ on 29 December 2019.

It was a game that Bitton referenced with his opening comments: “Everyone wants to stop us, they want to beat us. I think, after the Old Firm game before the winter break, everyone killed us, everyone wanted us to fail. Every away game in the Scottish league is difficult and, to be the hero, we need to accept it, we need to face it.”

Celtic showed real champions mentality to overcome the derby day setback so well, whilst others have struggled to handle the pressure. Bitton explained how this was done: “When you play for a club like Celtic, you have to believe all the time. You play for a massive club, you’re always fighting for trophies, you have to have this winning mentality. Every game, even if we are down, even if we are up, we play the same style of play. We will always be on the front foot and try to win the game and it’s a special dressing room to be in.”

Despite Celtic’s 13 point lead and the capitulation at Ibrox, Bitton insists that nine in a row is not done yet. “We were very disappointed to drop points on Wednesday night,” he said. “We gave away two goals that put us under pressure for no reason. We need to cut it from the next games and need to make sure that we win the league as soon as possible. It’s a long way to go – still nine games and 27 points is enough points to try to close the gap. We need to make sure it’s not going to happen.”

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About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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