The Celtic Star ahead of the matches this midweek, spoke to former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan to get his thoughts on the title race as we head for a three team photo-finish…
Hearts won the Edinburgh Derby on Tuesday evening at Tynecastle, before Alex Oxlade Chamberlain grabbed an stoppage time winner for Celtic at home to Livingston last night, then in the closing stages of the later kick-off at Fir Park, Stephen Welsh, on loan from Celtic, scored the Motherwell equaliser as the latest Ibrox club spilled two points.
We move onto this weekend when Celtic take on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park and after the dust settles on that one, theRangers entertain league leaders Hearts at Ibrox, where points will be dropped by one or both of Celtic’s title rivals.
Kilmarnock have found some goalscoring form under new manager Neil McCann, scoring four times against St Mirren at Rugby Park last night, and he will be desperate to do a favour to both clubs playing in the later kick-off.
We also spoke to Gordon Strachan about Celtic coming from behind back in 2008 to win the title and how he managed to navigate that at times unlikely title triumph. We lists his top three Celtic signings, two of the three might surprise you and he talks about Martin O’Neill’s mission at Celtic being all about winning games.
Special thanks to BetVictor Casino for arranging The Celtic Star’s interviewed Gordon Strachan. Here’s everything that was said…
The Celtic Star Q: It’s looking like the title race in the Scottish Premiership is going to go all the way. In 2008 your Celtic side chased down Rangers successfully to win the title. How did you mastermind that triumph?
Gordon Strachan: “It was an extraordinary period for Celtic. I’ll try and put it all together. I think we were around seven points behind with eight games to go, which usually means the end of the title race since it was only Celtic and Rangers at that point.
“We had to do a couple of extraordinary things. For some reason, we had to play Rangers twice at home within about two weeks, and we had to win both games. We had to play exceptionally well to win those games because Rangers were a good side at the time.
“If Rangers had managed a draw at any point during that period, it would have been over. But I had players who were incredibly strong-minded in that team. So, one of the reasons was beating Rangers twice, when all they needed was a draw against us at any time to win the league. To do that in a full house, with the pressure on you, knowing a draw means you’re finished, and to play the football we did in those two games was phenomenal.
“I’m not just talking about players like Nakamura, Samaras, and McGeady, I’m talking about the bravery of people at the back, playing with Caldwell and McManus, and the fullbacks. That, in itself, was an achievement. The players and I had to get angry about the situation. You can get overly angry if you listen to the media, social media, and the surrounding noise. We had to take that out of the way. ”
The Celtic Star Q: When you were manager of Celtic how did you handle the most difficult moments and did these make the triumphs all the more enjoyable?
Gordon Strachan: “Don’t get angry about that, get angry with yourself for being in that position. Get annoyed with yourself as a manager for being in this position and use all that energy to win games of football. So when the media say, ‘Well, it’s us because we spurred them on and we made them up,’ They had nothing to do with it.
“Absolutely nothing, because we took that out of the equation. I, in particular, took that out. I was only getting annoyed with myself and also the fear of losing. The fear of losing can sometimes be too much for people and they crumble, but we used that fear of losing to kind of refocus.
“And then, and very hard to say, we had the Tommy Burns situation. Our assistant, and probably the most loved Celtic person of all time, passed away with cancer at the time. I know the final game we played at Tannadice was really about winning the league for him. We did say that, winning the league for Tommy Burns, the most loved Celtic person of all time. He’s up there with Billy McNeill and all the rest.
“So, there were real strange, strange elements to how we clawed it back. There was mental strength from the players, there was anger, there was despondency, every emotion was in there. I’ve never come across a situation like that ever in my life. I think only the people who were there at the time could truly understand what was happening. It was an extraordinary time.”
The Celtic Star Q: Do you understand the Celtic supporters’ frustration at the way this season has gone?
Gordon Strachan: “It’s only about winning, that’s for sure. So, at this moment, with Martin O’Neill, it doesn’t matter how you play, how you get on, it’s winning. There’s no in-depth look at performances right now.
“When I watch English football and the coverage of English football, there are in-depth looks at every move, every formation, every change, the psychology of a player. It’s so in-depth. You don’t get that here in Scotland at the moment. It’s just all about winning for Celtic, (the)Rangers and Hearts are being chucked into this equation as well. They pushed themselves into this equation. The conversation is just about winning and nobody cares otherwise. And it’s great that we do have this at the moment.”
The Celtic Star Q: Which player was your best signing as Celtic manager and why?
Gordon Strachan: “Looking at technique and how the game should be played, it’s Shunsuke Nakamura. On the other side, you’ve got free transfers like Paul Telfer and Gary Caldwell. There’s Shunsuke, who would win every game, if you ask most Celtic fans, he’d be the best.
“Then you’ve got Paul Telfer, who then set standards at training and fitness and professionalism that I can always rely on as a manager.
“Then you bring Gary Caldwell, and that was when the game was changing a bit, where the centre-backs really had to be able to play a bit. It was changing because a lot of teams are leaving Celtic with the ball and getting into better shapes defensively. He came in and helped us grow from the back in terms of more options on how you go forward. I think if I was going, there’s not one, but there’s three, but all different in their ways.”
The Celtic Star Q: What are your general thoughts on the title race?
Gordon Strachan: “The momentum right now is with (the)Rangers. They are very hard to beat. Dundee played them recently, and (the)Rangers won, it wasn’t a ‘wow’ performance. It’s a system that’s working for them at the moment. Everyone finds them hard to beat, and they have a confidence about them now that makes them think they can win every game. They didn’t have that six months ago.
“Six months ago, most clubs were not scared of (the)Rangers. I don’t think anyone is genuinely scared of (the)Rangers just yet, like in the heydays, but I still think they’re wary of them. They understand that to beat (the)Rangers, you’ve got to play really well.
“I don’t think they’re blowing anybody away other than in the cup or against Kilmarnock when they had 10 men. I don’t think it’s cosmic football. I think Danny Rohl is just going, ‘Right, here are my best players.’ And they are playing it that way. It’s not about the system.
There’s no point having a system with your second-best player sitting on the substitute bench right beside you, and your third-best player there too.
You find a system that suits your best players. It’s like going back to Uruguay years ago with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. They played 4-4-2 because their two best players were strikers. There was no way the manager was going to have Cavani or Suarez sitting beside them. You find a system for your best players, and they had a great international team.
“So, I think that’s what Danny Rohl is doing. I knew Danny Rohl would be a problem for Celtic when he came in after speaking to Barry Bannan about him. I spoke to Barry Bannan at length about Danny, he thought Rohl was a terrific coach. And when he’s on TV, he also has a presence about him. There is something about him that helps the players when they see that man has such control in his interviews.”
The Celtic Star Q: How will theRangers v Hearts game on Sunday impact things for Celtic?
“That is a big game. I genuinely think Hearts can win the league. If they do, they deserve it, because they’ve beaten (the)Rangers twice and Celtic twice. That is some going, what they have done is fantastic. The problem, and everybody says it’s a cliche up here, is the injuries, especially to Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin.
“But they played well against Celtic and they’d probably argue that even without them, they still should have beaten Celtic. That’s how good they are this year. They’re on a bit of momentum.
“I would like to see the league when it gets to the last five games, when they cut off, if these three teams are three points from each other. Then it’s got to be mayhem, fantastic mayhem. But I think if Hearts don’t get beat at Ibrox , that’s a huge step for them, and a body blow for (the)Rangers. I think Celtic will win.
“A draw for Celtic is the best one, only two points go on the board then. If somebody wins, it’s three points. So the draw would be the best result for Celtic.”
Introducing The Celtic Star App and our new ad-free Premium Service...
Go ad-free on The Celtic Star, get a FREE trial period to try it out. Also download our new App – available for both Apple and Android – and get the best Celtic content on your phone without fighting through pop-up ads and being forced to watch videos.
Our new PREMIUM service comes with a free seven-day trial so you can look before you book. If you are happy to continue the price will be just 99p per month or £9.99 for the year. For that you get an AD-FREE SITE plus access to our premium content, and you’ll also help us make The Celtic Star even better and less reliant on advertising revenues, allowing us to be more focused on publishing the best Celtic features on the internet.
Click HERE to access your FREE trial. We think you’ll like it! We’re Obsessed with Celtic and we think you are too! Join us hand in hand...
