Tomorrow will see us go head to head with Ross County at Celtic Park in what will be our final competitive fixture before we take a five-week break due to the ridiculous decision to hold the World Cup in November/December in Qatar.
Celtic currently sit top of the league holding a seven point advantage over our nearest challengers, as well as a handsome lead in the goal difference charts. Things have been going well for us so far this season on the domestic front but personally I feel that tomorrow could provide an opportunity for us to really stamp our superiority on the league and leave our nearest rivals in turmoil over the next few weeks.
Hours before we meet Ross County at 3pm, our rivals from across the city will be in Paisley as they take on St Mirren in the lunchtime kick off. The home team are of course the only team domestically to lay a glove on us this season, beating us 2-0 back in September.
With the pressure mounting on Giovanni van Bronkhorst and his players, the Buddies will provide stiff opposition and I can foresee the hosts taking something from the game which will surely leave theRangers fans foaming at the mouth and generate more cries for their managers head. A nice mood to leave them in as the rest of us enjoy the World Cup don’t you think?
Celtic have a tricky enough tie to contend with themselves. Although home to Ross County doesn’t look the hardest match on paper, especially considering that we have already beaten them up in Dingwall rather convincingly twice this season, but we also know Ross County are capable of a surprise or two.
Some of the matches in recent seasons can attest to that. Having beaten them 3-1 in the league and 4-1 in the League Cup bodes well for our chances but we only have to look back to last season and Anthony Ralston’s last gasp winner to prove that this will be no walkover.
The other thing is Celtic haven’t been at their free flowing best in recent games. Yes we managed to secure maximum points but if we are totally honest we were quite poor in our last two matches against Dundee United and Motherwell. Against Dundee United we gave away soft goals which led to that grand stand finish, that for however exciting it was, was totally unnecessary.
It was brilliant to see the team display that ‘We Never Stop’ attitude but as I mentioned it shouldn’t really have got to that point, the game should have been dead and buried long before they equalised.
As for midweek I have to say that was one of the poorest matches I have watched this season. We evidently lacked the zip and finesse that we have admired so often this season and the fact that we were once again left with a nervy finish to the game shows that we definitely aren’t hitting the heights we saw earlier in the campaign.
It felt like our eyes were already focused on the winter break and that we had ever so slowly taken our foot of the gas as the players freewheeled towards a much deserved break.
In that regard I think Ange Postecoglou will have been at pains to get across the message to his players this week that the winter break hasn’t started yet and that we need one final push against Ross County to secure maximum points and hopefully put in a performance that excites the fans and leaves us on a high as we struggle without having Celtic to watch over this next period which, in any normal year, would usually see the matches coming thick and fast.
We do of course have the Sydney Super Cup to keep us entertained but we all know it’s hard to feel the same about friendlies compared to competitive matches.
It will be interesting to see what the starting line up is tomorrow and for me it was great hearing our manager state that his selections won’t be affected by who will be heading to the World Cup or not. As long as they are with Celtic they are Celtic players and Ange won’t be worrying about their International managers and looking out for their feelings.
He is totally right on that front by the way. One man definitely heading to the World Cup is Daizen Maeda, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Japanese star starts on the wing tomorrow after Ange’s praise for the player after the impact he made coming on against Motherwell during the week. His pace and non stop pressure could be exactly what we need against a stubborn Ross County side.
I genuinely hope all the Celtic players who are heading to the World Cup come through tomorrow unscathed, as it’s always a joy watching ‘our own’ on the big stage. How satisfying would it be to see big Cameron Carter-Vickers stick ex-teammate Harry Kane in his pocket for 90 mins?
Anyway back to my point and tomorrow could potentially see the gap widen even more at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. No matter what happens in Paisley it’s imperative that Celtic handle their own business and head into the winter break with at least a seven point lead. It will be Ange’s job to get the players motivated for one last push and I have absolutely no doubt the Australian will achieve this.
Let’s just make this one a bit less nervy Celtic, eh?
Conall McGinty
