Celtic are making all the right noises as they continue to charge towards the top of the SPFL table.
It has been a difficult season for Celtic, with three different managers in the dugout, but Martin O’Neill’s side are fighting back, including that late winner against Kilmarnock on Sunday, which has rubbed a few people up the wrong way.
Celtic’s 97th-minute win at Rugby Park resulted in critics, including Killie manager Neil McCann, moaning about why there were seven minutes of stoppage time.
But Charlie Mulgrew shut those critics down by sharing that the longest SPFL games this season don’t even involve the champions of Scotland.
- READ MORE: Gary Lineker shares who he wants to win the league after Celtic’s dramatic Kilmarnock win
Why have Celtic been able to score so many late goals this season?
Charlie Mulgrew debunks Celtic’s stoppage time critics
Believe it or not, the team that is playing the longest SPFL games on average is bottom-club Livingston, as Mulgrew shared on Go Radio.
Celtic beat Livingston at the death last week, when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came off the bench and marked a stunning debut.
What’s even funnier is that Hearts and Rangers are above Celtic, with the latter’s games lasting 96 minutes and 35 seconds, on average.
“A lot has been made about the minutes being added at Celtic,” said Mulgrew. “I have seen something else where Livingston have had the longest SPFL games with an average of 98 minutes and seven seconds.
“Rangers and Hearts are close with 97 minutes and 41 seconds, and 97 minutes and 30 seconds. Celtic games, on average, only last 96 minutes and 35 seconds.
“So, Celtic aren’t even having as much game time as Hearts, Rangers and Livingston.”
Celtic are showcasing a ‘champions mentality’
Many are questioning whether Celtic can continue down this current road, and that’s scoring late, late goals to secure the three points.
But from the perspective of Mulgrew, this is ‘champions mentality’, even though, in an ideal world, you don’t want to be going down this road again and again.
“Everybody is going have a look at it,” added Mulgrew. “People used to say, ‘Fergie time.’ All that kind of stuff.
“It’s not a coincidence, champions do that. You need that mentality. You need that mentality to go right to the end.
“It’s not that Celtic aren’t creating and then scoring in the last minute. They never played well in the first half. But they responded really well in the second half.
“Whatever Martin O’Neill brings energy-wise, it’s no coincidence. You can’t continue it. But it’s still a good trait to have.”
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