Today Scottish football is watching Celtic like never before.
They’re watching to see if we can decisively answer the challenge of Aberdeen, and if we can lay down a marker before taking on an uppity team in the Scottish Cup.
Everyone’s waiting for a mistake, for a crisis moment, for us dipping into self-doubt and anger after a week in which the Family has been united.
It can’t be allowed to happen, but once again our manager appears to have denied us the kind of team that would have made it a less stressful match.
Today should have been about sending a message to Scottish football about who the biggest club in the land is, about saying that we’re coming for the cup and that anyone who wants the league flag has to first pry it from our cold, dead hands.
I’ve said in recent weeks that all that counts lately is three points.
This week we need a performance too, to make that message as loud and clear as possible. A good win today, where we raise our game above where it’s been lately, would push the pressure where it belongs; onto Aberdeen, who’s boss has finally given his team encouragement in the title race.
This is too little too late from McInnes and I suspect he knows it. As psychological warfare efforts go I suspect he couldn’t have picked a worse moment. Our club is concentrating again on the fundamentals and won’t be distracted by his big talk.
Ironically, McInnes taken some of the weight off us and put it on his own players, instead of letting them relax in the status of underdogs.
Rookie mistake, that one.
But we don’t help ourselves either at times.
What is today’s team selection all about?
Today would have been a very good day for seeing the magical Patrick Roberts on the park from the start and I cannot believe he isn’t there.
No Scott Allan in the pool either, and no Ryan Christie.
Forrest makes the bench again … which is a travesty when we have players in the squad who do want to play for the club and aren’t there.
Not starting Roberts seems ridiculous, frankly, as does the decision not to even include Christie. Put one on either wing and that would give us the dynamic we’ve lacked in a lot of games. Play Commons behind Griffiths in front of the midfield two and we’d have assured a very good day.
I am pleased with how the last week has gone, but annoyed with this team selection again.
It’s frustrating because there’s been a quiet sense of purpose from the players; Brown has come out and said that from here on in the players will do their talking on the park. That’s music to my ears, as I’ve long lamented the way our dressing room seems to do more talking than is good for them.
That has distracted them from doing it in the place that matters.
From now until the end of the season, this is the focus we want to see.
Today is not simply about three points. It’s about hammering home our advantages and superiority as a football team in every area. It’s about sending out a clear-cut message to our title rivals and any other pretenders who are out there for the future.
We’ve played it safe, with a team selection that allows our opponents to predict too much.
I hope we don’t live to regret that.
CELTIC v Thistle: Gordon; Lustig, Sviatchenko, Mulgrew, Tierney; McGregor, Brown, Bitton; Commons, Mackay-Steven, Griffiths
SUBS: Fasan, Ambrose, Armstrong, Forrest, Roberts, Kazim-Richards, Rogic.
