Neil Lennon refused to allow the subject of Celtic dominance to go under the radar in yesterday’s club TV interview.
In what was an agonising day for everyone connected with the club, our title chase appears to be all but over. Celtic are now 19 points behind Rangers in the title-race with only 19 games remaining. In theory, Celtic need to win all remaining 19 games whilst hoping Rangers drop another four or five points outside of derby fixtures.
It’s going to take one monumental swing for the Hoops to seal the title this year. But yesterday’s 1-0 defeat at Ibrox was a bizarre one in that the Hoops made Govan their playground. Indeed, Celtic bossed the midfield battle and dominated at the back. However, their failure to click in the final third would come back to haunt them.
But Lennon refused to play down the positives in yesterday’s post-match interview on Celtic TV.
“We were the better team. We were outstanding up until the red card which I don’t think is a red card. It changed the course of the game. I wouldn’t say it put it in Rangers’ favour but it balanced it off. We were definitely in total control and just felt the longer the game would go on the way we were playing then we would win the game.
“We dominated and made them look ordinary – we were far sharper, crisper, stronger, quicker. Frimpong, Turnbull, Christie, McGregor were all outstanding for the first hour or so.
“Barkas has had nothing to do. He hasn’t had a save to make. I think Allan McGregor has got man-of-the-match, so I think that speaks volumes for our performance today.”
Dominance should give Celtic reasons for optimism
It feels so odd dissecting this game.
On one hand, you have the fact 10-in-a-row is more or less over. We need a miracle even if those do sometimes happen. It’s a second derby defeat out of two this season and our third consecutive loss in this fixture overall. That makes for pretty grim reading.
On the other, you have the fact we’re playing the best football we have done all season. Celtic look so much more energetic and exciting to watch, whilst Lennon has found the right shape and personnel for the team. Nobody saw yesterday’s dominant Ibrox display coming.
But our previous failures have come back to haunt us here. The draws against Aberdeen, Hibs, Kilmarnock, and St Johnstone as well as the previous loss to Rangers are now all in the spotlight. It’s these fixtures which have killed us and left no room for error. That’s what made our season so perilous. Only points matter at this stage.
You will, undoubtedly, find that Celtic fans will be more confident ahead of the next derby than they were heading into this one. But it continues to be overshadowed by the prospect that this may have all come too late.
Now it really is all or nothing. Celtic have to win all 19 remaining fixtures. Rangers have had a stunning season but they still dropped four points in the first half of the campaign outwith derby matches. They almost certainly won’t beat that if they perform the way they did yesterday.
So the derby does give us reason to hope. But make no mistake, we’re now clinging onto our season by the tip of our pinky.
In other news, we take a look at the Celtic decision yesterday that will have left Tavernier relieved.
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