Celtic return to Hampden, home of some truly awful recent results and performances to take on Dundee United in the Scottish Cup semi-final, with the winners facing Hibs. Will tomorrow finally be the day when Celtic turn in a good performance at Hampden?
If we examine our previous three defeats at Hampden you can’t just blame it on ‘bad luck’ as Neil Lennon did yesterday. There have been incidents – such as the penalty not given against Hearts – which have been unfortunate but the bottom line is we have been outplayed in these games, particularly the most recent loss to St. Mirren which was a pitiful display. If we play like we did that day tomorrow we will lose, so hopefully this week Lennon will have drummed it into the players’ heads that tomorrow’s performance needs to be far better than recent ones at Hampden.
As for tomorrow’s game, the team selection will be very interesting. It is vital that Kris Commons is fit to play, he has been our main goalscoring and creative outlet for the last couple of weeks, and if he is out injured it will leave a hole which is difficult to fill, as it is almost certain that James Forrest will be out. Upfront will also be interesting as if Commons is injured Samaras will probably play in the ‘creative’ role – which I’m not sure he’s suited too – and Stokes and Hooper will probably be up front. At the back I would drop Izaguirre, he has been in a very poor run of form and would undeniably have a tough time against Gary Mackay-Steven. If Adam Matthews is fit I would play him at left-back. He has done it before – against Barcelona – so he should be able to do it against Dundee United you would think. Midfield will see Wanyama (after he won his appeal) and Ledley in the middle you would think, and Mulgrew will no doubt be shoehorned in as usual.
The game tomorrow will be difficult, as Dundee United are currently in a good run of form and will be on a high after reaching the top six last week. Indeed United have only lost one game since Jackie McNamara took over – a 6-2 defeat at Celtic Park. But tomorrow will probably be a much different game, and a lot tighter. United’s danger man is the aforementioned Gary Mackay-Steven, but you would think that Ranger in waiting Jon Daly could cause us trouble. It seems likely that United forward and possible Celtic target Johnny Russell will miss the game with an ankle problem though.
Tomorrow is a very big game for Neil Lennon and his players. as victory would bring us one step closer to a domestic double, whilst defeat would mean the season petering out in a limp fashion. This game is vital to both Lennon and many of the player’s futures. Real doubts would begin to exist in many fans minds if Lennon’s Celtic threw away yet another trophy we should win. Our biggest rivals are no longer in the running to titles, we really should be doing better than three trophies in three seasons. As for the players, many of whom will probably leave when the season is over, losing at Hampden a fourth time in a row is surely not acceptable to them. They should be showing a lot more dominance in domestic game, both they and Lennon can’t dine out on our European ‘heroics’ for this long. I also believe the fans will take a dim view if we lose tomorrow, and another trophy goes begging. There is beginning to be a groundswell of opinion among fans that Neil Lennon is not the man to take Celtic forward. Defeat tomorrow would only confirm that and cause major consternation. The board would not be too happy either I would suggest.
As the title of the preview says, failure really isn’t an option tomorrow connected to Celtic, the players, the manager and the board will surely now how big a game it is. If not, there could be serious repercussions in the summer. Let’s hope that isn’t the case and Celtic reach the cup final.