Today Mark Warburton tried to back off from the media inspired idea, supported by a number of his club’s own fans, that his team are the “favourites” for the Scottish Cup semi-final against the champions and current leaders of the SPL.
At the same time, a section of their support has erupted in typical spiteful fury at Chris Sutton’s suggestion – echoed on this very website – that there is not a player in the Celtic squad who would not walk into the Sevco first team each and every week.
Sutton has a credibility most of the hacks simply do not, and which many people fail to get.
Sutton is a heavy duty critic of Celtic’s, and in his time he’s slated board, manager and team … and so those who claim he sees things through green tinted specs need to take a step back and think that one over. Chris loves Celtic; that much is pretty clear, but he is not blind to the issues surrounding the club and he speaks out on all of them.
That means when he talks about Sevco and their weaknesses, people ought to shut up and listen because this guy is not beholden to anyone.
Sevco’s fans have erupted in fury anyway.
I would suggest this is the result of realisation dawning on some of them.
Warburton knows his side is not on a par with Celtic, and some of their fans, when forced to confront the same fact, just can’t handle that and it’s causing their circuits to overload, as they tend to when you challenge the Victim or Survival Myth’s on which their fragile mind-sets depend.
There was brief euphoria when the draw was made, but over the last couple of days that has dissipated as cold reality starts to set in.
Self-absorbed as they are, the sudden wave of realism has hit them like a sledgehammer and here, in what alcoholics call a “moment of clarity”, they have reverted to form, and are going nuts.
Sutton’s comments were right on the money; he’s stated simple facts and only the dumbest amongst their support would try to argue with them.
Cue those who called The Daily Record, some suggesting they wouldn’t even take Scott Brown, which has more to do with sheer bigotry and naked hate than it has to do with the only criteria that should matter for this discussion; football ability.
Even the most basic analysis of our squad and theirs reveals the vast disparity between what’s in there and what we have at Celtic Park, and form aside that is beginning to dawn on people. So too is the fact that nothing unites the Family more than going head to head with an arrogant opponent, especially one the media has dressed up in the cerements of the grave and stuck the word “Rangers” onto.
This is the part that makes me smile most; Norman Bates FC has spent so long trying to convince the world that they are Rangers, assuming so many of the negative traits associated with that club that to a lot of Celtic fans they represent just that.
This isn’t to say we accept the Survival Myth – we absolutely do not, and nor do we see this club as our equal in any way – but their insistence on pushing it has unified us all in the common endeavour to ram their proud boasting and smug superiority down their throats.
They had expected fear, or apprehension at least, from our fans.
Now, faced with our sense of purpose and the coming together that was inevitable they’ve realised the gravity of their own position; their media lackeys have spent months talking about how bad we are and how this gives their club an opportunity.
This, they say, is the “best time to get us.”
Hell mend them, because even this Celtic side, playing as it is, still has more than enough juice to blow them away.
Warburton knows this; this is why he’s been lowering expectations since the draw was made, why he’s now praising Deila, why he’s trying to get the message out there that he doesn’t expect his team to be in the final.
And all this before Celtic starts to ratchet up the pressure on the park by accelerating through the next month with better performances than we’ve seen in a while, as every player battles to get a place in the team for that match.
Fear is already stalking the halls at Ibrox.
That’s only going to get worse the closer we get to the game.