We’re all still smarting. Saturday wasn’t nice at all.
However, we can’t keep dwelling on it forever. In fact, we can’t even afford to do so for a couple more days as AC Milan get set to rock up at Parkhead for our Europa League group stage opener.
The Hoops are extremely fortunate to have such a packed schedule over the next few weeks – it really does give us an opportunity to put the Rangers defeat to the back of our minds. A win against Milan, for example, and the narrative will very quickly have moved on.
Indeed the next five days are as important as any we’ll face between now and the next international break in November. The importance of starting the Europa League campaign in a positive manner speaks for itself, whilst Sunday’s trip to Aberdeen in the Premiership is arguably our second-toughest away fixture we can have domestically.
Celtic’s recent derby defeats haven’t proved catastrophic. Due to the fact we’ve tended to bounce back strongly from them in recent years, the Hoops have still managed to rack up nine-in-a-row as well as a treble-treble.
Beating Celtic in a one-off game isn’t what Rangers need to prove they can do this season. Their goal will be to match Celtic’s consistency over the course of an entire season. As such, bouncing back so quickly with a couple of wins would send an ominous message to Ibrox.
Celtic still hold an ace – their consistency over a season
It would be a sign that, even though we may lose the odd derby here and there, our relentlessness and ability to bounce back from them hasn’t deserted us. It will send a message to Rangers that the challenge they continually fail to pass is set to meet them again this season.
We can’t keep crying over a defeat to them. They’re a decent side and we’ve suffered them before. What we should really be concerned with is if there is no reaction to that result.
If Celtic go out and lose feebly to Milan before dropping more domestic points at Pittodrie, then we’ll be in some real trouble. But let’s give this side the chance to respond to Saturday before we start going over-the-top or behaving as though we aren’t favourites for the league.
This team has still won the last 10 domestic trophies. That sort of mentality doesn’t just disappear over the course of a summer. We have to believe that the character that has driven Celtic on to trophy win after trophy win is still there. Why wouldn’t it be?
Rangers didn’t do anything on Saturday that they haven’t done before. Two wins on the board over the next five days and it will send a worrying message to the Ibrox dressing room that we aren’t going to collapse as easily as they’ve done in the past.
Here’s hoping the Bhoys can give us all the lift we need after last weekend’s disappointment.
In other news, a pundit Neil Lennon has previously called out has now moved to defend him from being sacked.
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