Epic Celts Come Back From The Brink

Let me just say that was one of the best 90 minutes of football I’ve watched in a long, long time.

There was nothing boring about that, it was action all the way.

Next, let me say that I am tremendously proud of my team tonight, and the way they turned around a horrendous first 20 minutes to give Inter Milan the shock of their lives.

We were brilliant middle to front. Absolutely brilliant. Special praise has to go to Stuart Armstrong, who as the readers of this site will know is a guy I held in the highest regard before he pulled on the Hoops. What a joy it was to see him turn in a display like this on the bigger stage.

Tonight a lot of this team came of age, and although Craig Gordon had arguably his worst 90 minutes in a Celtic shirt I am not holding that against him considering his heroics thus far.

I wish he’d chosen a different game for it, but he will keep his head up and his save from the free kick at the end was as good as anything we’ve seen from him since he signed.

If I have one criticism – and I do, of course – it would be that our defensive line was very high for the third goal, where we allowed their quick footed forwards too much room to run into.

That’s a failing we’ll need to get a grip on if we’re going to get something in Milan.

On the basis of what I watched tonight, that is far from impossible.

Middle to front, we played with real verve and drive. Biton was excellent, I thought, and Brown covered every inch. Johansen probably disappointed me some, but he is in the midst of a tremendous season and I have no fears for him.

Mackay Steven needs games in this team and to adjust to his position … but Stuart Amstrong was magnificent.

There is a need – a clear and obvious need – for a striker who can do the business at this level, and I am sure that’s a priority for the summer.

In the meantime, Leigh Griffiths did what we could have expected from him playing a lone man up front role; his layoffs were excellent, his one on ones not as good as they might have been.

Guidetti, who hasn’t scored in months, picked one Hell of a time to find the back of the net, and I was delighted for him, although I no longer expect to see him in the Hoops come the start of next season. That’s a shame because on his day he is quite capable of being exactly what is required if we’re to take this team forward.

The man I was most pleased for, of course, is Ronny Deila, who has endured opprobrium far in excess of anything he was due.

His start was rocky – but what do you expect with a guy inheriting a brand new team, and the timeframe he had to work in – but he has more than steadied the ship; he has put it on course for a very memorable season.

It all yet may unravel, but don’t count on it. This team is starting to play with purpose and self belief.

Games like tonight will only make them stronger, and with one or two key additions we might just be in the best shape, going into Champions League qualifiers, than we have been in years.

Again, I think that’ll depend on what support Ronny gets from the board, but the January window was encouraging in more ways than one, and I suspect there’s been a sea change in attitude somewhere inside our club which is all to the good.

Finally, the supporters tonight were exceptional, with a special mention to the Green Brigade for their display.

It is truly awesome to see Celtic Park filled to the rafters again, with the troops providing the encouragement to the team on the park.

If we can keep on moving in the right direction nights like this will, again, become the norm. I have no doubt about it.

Tonight was a good night for our football club. Tonight we crawled out of our own grave, to grab the game by the scruff of the neck … and we did ourselves justice, and we did ourselves proud.

Now, onwards to Italy and let’s make a little bit of history!