Celtic know they need to react to their substandard display against Kilmarnock last weekend when they travel to face Motherwell on Sunday.
The Bhoys could be five points behind Rangers heading into the tie at Fir Park due to circumstances elsewhere.
Nevertheless, Brendan Rodgers will have his eye on the prize as he looks to ensure his side leave with three points come full-time.
Remaining calm, the Irishman indicated after his side dropped the ball at home to Kilmarnock that he never expected success to come easy upon his return to Glasgow.
He stated: “There’s still a long way to go. And I’m sure it will to and from between now and the very last game. I’ve said before it was never going to be a procession. Every title is there to fight for, and we’re there to do that.”
Now, he needs to prove why he was identified as the candidate to lead Celtic to a third successive league title, which is currently on a knife-edge.
It has been a long time since there was a genuine race for the title in Scotland. However, the reigning champions need to rally to embrace the challenge in a better manner than they have done over recent weeks.
Mark Wilson names one bad habit Celtic need to eradicate
It hasn’t been an ideal season for Celtic, though they can eradicate all notion of negative sentiment at Parkhead if they recover to win a domestic double.
Former Bhoy Mark Wilson is someone who has been over the course and believes that his old club’s nasty habit of dropping points won’t cut the mustard.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wilson elaborated on the ‘problem’ at Celtic, stating: “Of course, when you get injuries to key players in any team, it’s going to have an impact. Celtic have suffered, probably more this season than people would expect.
“You look at their squad, there is still huge quality in there, and you look at the points that they’ve dropped this season, 16 in total, nine here at Celtic Park.
“That’s the problem when you’ve got a big squad, and you’re signing players even when Carter-Vickers is out, even when Hatate is out, even when Abada was out early on in the season, you should still have enough to see out those games.
“Three draws here, a defeat against Hearts, obviously, not good enough, and that’s the form that won’t retain you the Scottish Premiership title.”
It goes without saying, but Celtic must find a way of seeing out tight matches, which is something that has proved to be their Achilles heel on more than one occasion in the Scottish Premiership.
On the same token, it would be nice to see the Hoops produce more consistency within their performances, and winning Sunday would be a step in the right direction against Motherwell for everyone connected with the club.
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