Celtic interim boss John Kennedy has downplayed Rangers’ “unbeaten” status this season.
It may sound like semantics, but plenty of outlets are comparing this season’s Gers to the incredible 16-17 Celtic side. The Celtic side who, let’s not forget, went unbeaten over three domestic competitions under Brendan Rodgers. Playing incredible attacking football throughout, Celtic were dominant in a way that seems unlikely to be bettered.
Certainly, it’s not being bettered currently. As John Kennedy puts it, Rangers are having a “moment”, but in his view, there’s no real comparison. Rather than piling on the pressure, the interim boss wants to remind the Celtic players of how good they can be.
He said [Glasgow Times]:
“It’s important because it’s part of our history and we’re very proud of that.
“We also went a full season, winning each trophy.
“Especially in knockout competitions, it only takes one game to be off the boil and you’re out. That period of being so successful is a huge achievement. We’ve had a big setback this season with the league campaign but you don’t just become a poor team overnight. So we need to get back to our levels and we want to show that on Sunday.
“We’ll not use it as extra motivation [that Rangers are unbeaten]. We have set the marker in previous seasons.”
John Kennedy is bang on: Celtic 16-17 season is as yet, unsurpassed
Unless Rangers go back in time and beat St. Mirren, they can’t match Celtic.
That’s the simple fact. Yes, an unbeaten league season would be a commendable achievement, but it’s not on the cards yet. There’s still a decent amount of football to be played, not least at Celtic Park on Sunday.
Still, it’s good to see John Kennedy bringing this up. Inevitably, plenty of Celtic figures will have attempted to bat this question away. Yet, Kennedy seems intent on using the 16-17 example as motivation for his players. Judging by the smiles from training yesterday [Celtic FC Twitter], it’s worked to bolster confidence, rather than weigh heavy on the minds of players.
Kennedy continued [Glasgow Times]:
“We have cleaned up domestically in previous seasons. Rangers have had their moment but we want it to be a moment.
“The thing now is how we perform on Sunday, the result we get and the impact on things going forward. It will not be an extra incentive for the players to stop Rangers. It’s more about us now, what we deliver, how we perform and the results we get.”
Let’s be clear: if Rangers get through the league season unbeaten, that’s impressive work. They’ll undoubtedly get their plaudits, to a nauseating extreme.
But it’s just not the same as what Celtic achieved. The 16-17 team were significantly better, and proved it across three competitions.
Go unbeaten domestically for an entire campaign, then we can talk about this again.
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