For Celtic, last night’s Rangers defeat to St Mirren in the Betfred Cup was not important in and of itself.
Yes, it was a good laugh and we all enjoyed seeing Kris Boyd gutted on Sky Sports, but the only way Celtic can truly make it matter is through their own hard work.
Neil Lennon and his Bhoys could really ramp up the heat on Steven Gerrard and his team of serial trophy losers from this point on.
All of it relies on Celtic finding a consistent form that they haven’t this season. We have to live in hope.
Step 1: Celtic win the Quadruple Treble
What better way to remind Rangers that it’s the Bhoys who have the superior trophy-winning mentality in Scotland than to earn a magnificent quadruple treble on Sunday?
Yes, we’ve had our problems this season. You might even find yourself in a mood with Neil Lennon. You may even want board room change at the club.
None of that matters when we have the chance to see Celtic smash Hearts at Hampden.
None of that matters when we have the chance to win 12 successive domestic competitions.
A win on Sunday, following our previous two victories against Lille and Kilmarnock, as well as Rangers’ defeat to St Mirren, would be a fantastic momentum shift.
If we’re to have any belief of big success this season, then it all starts this Sunday.
Steps 2, 3 & 4: Celtic go on a winning run
After we face Hearts, there’s then a three-game gauntlet for Celtic to navigate over the Christmas period.
We face Ross County at home on the 23rd, hoping to get revenge for our own cup exit. Lennon’s men then play away to Hamilton on Boxing Day. Finally, we face Dundee United at Celtic Park in a strange 3 pm mid-week kick-off on the 30th.
All we can do to stay in the title race is win all three matches. No excuses. No draws. Certainly no defeats. Nine points from nine heading into the new year.
That’s an absolute requirement for Celtic.
If we do that, then the final step of our grand plan to get back into Scottish Premiership contention is the toughest yet.
Step 5: Celtic win at Ibrox, again
I’m going to level with you. Heading into the fixture at Ibrox, it’s likely going to look grim at the top of the table.
Rangers are likely to be a massive 16 points ahead of Celtic unless they drop points over their next four fixtures.
However, it’s always important to remember that things won’t be as they seem.
Celtic will have three games in hand and, while they cannot be taken as points banked, that at least gives us a fighting chance of significantly closing the gap in 2021.
If we win at Ibrox, as a Neil Lennon side did last season, then ultimately it’ll be in our hands to close that gap all the way back down to four points.
That’s title race stuff, piling the pressure on Rangers and forcing them to contend with the possibility of bottling it again, just like they did in Paisley last night.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, it won’t be.
Nothing has been simple for Celtic this season, but we have to hope this is the start of a resurgence.
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