Ange Postecoglou still can’t believe people had Celtic written off in October

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Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has highlighted those who called the league season far too early as the Hoops closed in on Rangers this weekend.

It was a major day in the title race yesterday as Rangers’ 3-3 draw at Ross County was pounced upon by Postecoglou’s men. Celtic beat Dundee United 1-0 at Parkhead to close the gap to 2 points as excitement grows ahead of Wednesday’s Glasgow Derby at Celtic Park.

However, there were plenty of negative narratives surrounding Celtic in the first-half of the campaign. Media columnists were predicting a gloomy season for Celtic before a ball was even kicked [The Guardian]. Not to mention the pro-Rangers media figures who have consistently demeaned the Hoops’ chances in the press too [Football Scotland].

And Ange has moved to call those predictions out as Celtic have a glorious chance to hit top spot this week. As quoted by the Daily Record, the Hoops boss said: “People were calling the league back in October. That was kind of unusual to me. Even now, there aren’t going to be any trophies handed out at the end of the Rangers game.

“I get it if there’s a big gap and it’s impossible to change the fortunes. But I just felt they wanted to call the end result way too early. I reckon it will go the distance. That’s my sense, that it’s unlikely there will be a massive gap. But things can change very quickly.

“My gut tells me it will be a tight title race. But instead of calling it, let’s see how it develops.”

Celtic beating Rangers on Wednesday would have major significance

You could say that Wednesday is actually no longer a must-win game. The points gap is now down to just 2, meaning there’s only a 1-game swing in it. If Celtic draw with Rangers this week, it would hardly end the title-race.

However, there’s a greater significance at play here than the league table. There’s the face we haven’t beaten our rivals since December 2019. Indeed, our 1-0 Betfred Cup success over 2 years ago was the last time we tasted triumph in this fixture.

That’s an utterly horrendous star whatever way you look at it. We’ve faced Rangers 7 times since then and failed to win the lot of them. Not to mention only one of them has ended in a draw. Celtic need to end this hoodoo they have in the Glasgow derby to give them some proper belief.

The confidence is fully with Celtic heading into it too. Rangers are leaking goals all over the place and won’t fancy coming to Parkhead and keeping a clean sheet. Not this time.

If we fail to get the job done on Wednesday night then there’s going to be plenty of frustration and concerns over what we need to do to beat them. Everything is with us in terms of momentum going into the match, and hopefully Ange and the Bhoys can make it another vital moment in the title race.

One thing’s for sure, there will be many journalists and pundits who’ll be wishing they could redact some of their 2021 predictions if the Hoops take 3 points.

In other news, “Incredible”; Matt O’Riley sends message to supporters on Instagram after first match at Celtic Park