Andy Lynch echoes the view of a number of Celtic Supporters when he points to the disappointment of his old club falling behind in the league this season but nevertheless questions the manufactured hype over Scottish football’s third attempt at winning a tenth consecutive title. Jock Stein and Walter Smith at the old Rangers both tried and failed and the latter’s attempt was all about one-upmanship. Bettering the Celtic record, which had of course also been accompanied with two European Cup Final appearances and the glory of lifting the Big Cup in Lisbon on 25 May 1967.
Smith matched the nine title wins but got nowhere near matching Stein’s European record. His club died trying.
Neil Lennon is the third manager to attempt to get to Ten and as of Saturday he was 19 points behind the new Rangers – who are chasing their first ever major trophy – but has three games in hand. Essentially Lennon needs to win all the remaining games and look to theRangers slipping out, perhaps as early as this Sunday at Pittodrie.
Speaking to David Friel at Scottish Sun, Andy Lynch reflected on Scottish football’s obsession with the Ten and pointed out that it’s in European football that your name and the days, your money is made. And he also looks back at a rather unbelievable fairytale from March 1979 when Celtic were trailing badly in the league but had games in hand to provide some hope.
Put it this way our chances of winning the league that season were remoter than they are at the moment!
“There is a lot of talk about Ten-in-a-Row and whether Celtic’s dominance is ending. Nothing lasts forever. At some stage, the run ends and someone takes the title off you. We experienced it in 1975. It was disappointing, but we didn’t dwell on it. At Celtic, you can’t afford to,” sobering words from former Celtic captain Andy Lynch.
“If the same thing happens this season, the club needs to move on and look at the bigger picture. Yes, Ten-in-a-Row would be nice for Celtic but football has changed and I would put far more emphasis on Europe nowadays.
“Let’s be honest, only two teams can win the title these days. How can you get excited by that? Is the big thing not the Champions League and getting to the knockout stages every year? Celtic didn’t make their name by winning Nine-in-a-Row. They did it in the European Cup for a period of time.
“For me, success in the Champions League is what the club should be aiming for. That’s where the money is now. That’s how you attract better players and improve the team. I am bitterly disappointed with the performances in the Champions League qualifiers over the last few years.
“Has Ten-in-a-Row been a distraction? It shouldn’t have been. Celtic have the squad to compete on both fronts. They should not be going out to the likes of AEK Athens, Cluj and Ferencvaros in the qualifying rounds.
“There have been some dreadful performances and it’s not just been Neil Lennon’s team. Brendan Rodgers had some bad shows, too. If the club re- evaluate things this summer and look at what route to go down, the Champions League issue has to be addressed.
“The top two in the Scottish Premiership go into the qualifiers next season and getting to the groups should be the priority. This Celtic team is evolving and the people in charge need to be planning ahead for Europe.”
Ibrox on Saturday was a major disappointment for Celtic and left the former Celtic skipper as frustrated as very other Celtic fan watching on television.
“Celtic played some great stuff in the first half and the game was there for them. But then came the red card and the golden moment had gone. I didn’t expect a player of Bitton’s ability and experience to do something so foolish.
“I was thinking about what big Jock would have said to him afterwards — he might never have played him again! I still can’t believe he didn’t just let him go and chase him, as Alfredo Morelos isn’t the fastest.
“It was a pity for Celtic as they had played so well, but it’s results that count and (the)Rangers did the job,” Lynch added.
“It’s going to be hard for Celtic, but you can never say never. There have been a few fairytales in the club’s history and, who knows, this could be the next one.
“Nineteen points is a big lead, but if Celtic win their games in hand and then beat Rangers in March, it could be back on. You need to give Steven Gerrard’s players a lot of credit for their record this season. But I don’t think they are playing as well as they were six weeks ago and Celtic just need to hang in.
Yet Lynch has good reason to believe that Celtic still have hope. He was part of the Celtic side that at the end of March 1979 was in seventh position in the league, having six games in hand over the leaders due to a series of postponements over what was a very bad winter. Those postponed games plus the scheduled games for the last two months of the season had to be played in April and May and all Celtic could do was keep playing and keep winning.
“I think back to the similarities in 1979 and the amount of games we had to catch up. We dug in and, as the penalty-taker, there were a few moments when I was sweating! We won a lot of games by the odd goal and we chipped away until we got to that Rangers game.
“We were 1-0 down, Johnny Doyle was sent off — but we managed to get the 4-2 win. As I said, it was a fairytale ending and who is to say that it can’t happen again?
“It would probably take something similar this season but Neil Lennon will be telling his players, ‘This isn’t over’.
“The Celtic players and fans will be numb just now, but if they pull together they can keep the race going.”
