It’s been a strange season for Celtic. Perhaps it was always going to be that.
In just two years, Ange Postecoglou had become a totemic presence at the Bhoys and his departure to Tottenham Hotspur promised to provide a rough adjustment period for Celtic regardless of who succeeded him.
Brendan Rodgers had found success in Scotland before but even he has struggled to shake off the baggage of the rock-and-roll football Celtic fans so thoroughly enjoyed under the Australian.
Despite being top of the Scottish Premiership for a large chunk of the season, there have been elements of unrest amongst the support ever since Ange’s exit, for various reasons on and off the pitch.
As we all know, Rangers eventually leapfrogged the Bhoys and that was a sink-or-swim moment for this Celtic team. Thankfully, they’ve responded well as second-place challengers.
Dundee demolished, now Celtic must break Hearts
Wednesday night’s 7-1 win over Dundee was a real statement of intent.
Not only could it end up being an important scoreline in terms of goal difference comparison to the Ibrox side, but the way the team went about dismantling the Dees in that first half was a thrill not often experienced this term.
Supporters desperately needed to see these players had the fight to produce such a display under this manager and it sets Celtic up very nicely for a dramatic end to the Premiership campaign.
The second-half comeback against Motherwell last weekend and the mid-week thrashing of the Taysiders have reinvigorated the season and given even cynical fans something tangible to believe in.
What looked like a daunting trip to Tynecastle this weekend is now another opportunity for Adam Idah, Matt O’Riley, Callum McGregor and the rest to show again that the reigning champions won’t be thrown aside easily.
But Chris Sutton was right on media duties with Sky. Nobody can get too carried away. What we need to see from the Bhoys is consistency in performance and results.
The fans, despite their various problems with the club right now, are with this team and will show them support. They must respond and use this week as a galvanising moment to go on and deliver the success we know they are still capable of.
Wednesday night proved that. Now it’s time to push on with togetherness and positivity.
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