While the media continues to deploy every cliché known to man ahead of tomorrow’s Glasgow Derby, our manager is calm, collected and confident.
Don’t Confuse Indifference with Complacency
Naturally, the usual suspects have already emerged online branding Brendan Rodgers press conference statements as overconfident, arrogant and smug.
This is of course, all in their own minds, our manager simply treated yet another attempt to waste his time talking about another club with the contempt it deserves.
Simply put, Rodgers knows that if Celtic do as they are supposed to do tomorrow then it’s a comfortable home win. Other factors, such as the opposition, their fans (including the officials) and media spin are utterly irrelevant.
Rodgers Will Have the Team Prepared
Beneath the usual veneer of confidence however, I have no doubt that Rodgers will have the team absolutely ready to go, come kick off time. He was visibly angry after the game at Ibrox in January.
That will have been passed on to the players. Everyone will know their role. They will fully understand what the manager expects, what must be done.
And I am confident the team won’t let the manager or us down.
No Need for “Blood and Snotters” Approach
Across the city, there has been much talk of players being “fired up”, of “being made to understand what it means to play for this club” and various other cliches about blood, sweat and tears, in the absence of footballing ability.
And predictably, the old, “It’s a derby so anything can happen” line is trotted out time and again.
I hope its all true, and not just bluster from a flailing manager out of his depth. Because if Rangers do come up with a “no surrender, lets just smash them!” approach at Celtic Park tomorrow, we will absolutely destroy them.
Celtic “More Physical” than Before
One of the biggest criticisms to come out of Celtics new year Ibrox performance was a lack of physicality. The implication was that Rangers bullied Celtic, they fought and snarled and scrapped. Ultimately, they won because they wanted it more than we did.
Maybe there is some truth to that, but that approach works once in a blue moon.
Celtic will not play that badly again, nor do I believe a Rangers side as woefully inconsistent as this one can punch that far above their weight for two derbies in a row.
We’ve looked stronger in recent months. Clearly, the physical aspect is something the entire squad are working on in training. It is now bearing fruit on the pitch.
If Celtic don’t win tomorrow, I guarantee it will not be because we allow ourselves to be physically outgunned.
Celtic Have a Better Manager and a Better Squad
In the vast majority of sporting contests, the better team, with the better players, is the one that comes out on top.
Celtic are far superior in every aspect to our opponents tomorrow.
Does that sound arrogant? Probably, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
So, Brendan Rodgers is not being arrogant, or complacent or smug in his statements. He simply believes in himself and his players. As do I.
Plenty of Projection from the Other Side
Meanwhile, “Bazza” and his pals over at Ibrox continue to play into the worst elements of their fan base. The whole “blood and thunder” approach might get the crowd fired up, but what happens after that?
It’s going to be a long walk home for those 2,500 angry bears tomorrow afternoon. I hope all appropriate security measures are in place for any businesses or bystanders unfortunate enough to be in their path.
True Arrogance
Arrogance isn’t the knowledge that you have more talent or more capabilities than your opposition. Arrogance is believing you are on the same level, or better than someone else, without any evidence to back it up. The only arrogance I have seen this week is from Rangers, their supporters and their media backers.
Celtic are far better than Rangers by every measurable metric (expect maybe statement writing) and that’s not going to change anytime soon, regardless of the result tomorrow. It is not arrogant to speak the truth.