'Resilience, desire & winning mentality shine through in looming title success'
The say the harder you work the luckier you get.
And with Celtic on the cusp of securing a 12th Scottish league title in 13 seasons Brendan Rodgers has fired a timely reminder of just how hard he has been working to keep the club at the forefront of Scottish football.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Rangers he took the opportunity to unleash on those who had accused him of “going through the motions” since his return to the club. He informed those in attendance of the 12-hour days he routinely undertakes at Lennoxtown and of his general obsession with football.
It’s clearly something the manager has been sitting on in recent months and there was no better time to take his shot.
Though his Celtic side have yet to mathematically seal the title it would take something unthinkable to prevent the trophy heading to the East End for a third successive season and Rodgers and his players deserve all the credit going for such an achievement.
Whatever anyone says you simply cannot fluke your way to a title during a 38-game season and I’d suggest anyone who says otherwise is being disingenuous.
Don’t get me wrong, exciting as the title race has been - particularly in the latter half of the campaign - this Celtic vintage of 2023-24 perhaps won’t go down as one of the greatest teams in our history.
However, in terms of resilience, desire and a winning mentality then Callum McGregor and his team-mates can be rightly proud of their efforts.
That’s not to say they lack quality too and if you care to revisit Matt O’Riley’s goal at the weekend you’ll see his left-footed strike was the culmination of a crisp sequence of 14 passes after James Tavernier had given up possession midway inside Celtic’s half.
Celtic’s dominance over Rangers this season has been clear to see, with three wins and a draw proving pivotal in the position they now find themselves.
What can’t be forgotten though is the sheer grit and determination that also saw late Adam Idah-inspired wins over Motherwell and Hibs in February with both games seemingly destined for a draw.
These, among others, were undoubtedly title-winning results.
Celtic need to remain focused on the challenges that Kilmarnock and St Mirren present in these last two games of the league campaign.
If the manager’s comments are anything to go by however there’s next to no chance of complacency setting in for his players as they aim to cross the finish line in style.
Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange
