If the reaction on Celtic cyberspace was entirely predictable after last night – and it’s pretty near unanimous that Lennon was to blame for the tactics and the result but the board should carry the can for strategic failures almost beyond count – then the reaction on the NewCo sites probably won’t come as any great surprise either.
As usual though, they are reacting way too early and way too stupidly.
Celtic is the proverbial wounded animal here. Who do you reckon we’ll take that frustration out on? We have a match at Ibrox in about a fortnight and a lot of angry players with a point to prove. On top of that, we need a big performance that day. They should reserve their celebrations until after that.
Above all else, the fundamentals don’t change. Tierney was sold for £25 million and so the books will balance.
It’s a shocking situation for our fans to have to face, but the reality is that last night has not put the club in any imminent danger.
The squad we have should still be good enough to win the SPL whether its gets further reinforcements or not.
Last night was a major blow in terms of our European prestige and ambition.
But the Ibrox fans cannot, on one hand – as they have all week with Tierney – say that the manager was never going to get the money and then pretend it matters if he doesn’t. The equation doesn’t change. We’re still well placed to retain the title and take another step towards the ten.
European setbacks do not influence our domestic campaign.
That’s just a fact, and they are beyond stupid if they try to ignore that. We ought to secure more points than we did in the last campaign – probably by a fair amount – and it probably won’t even, as some idiots in the media have predicted, come down to the games against our club and theirs.
Because the other part of the equation also remains the same. Gerrard did not become a better manager last night or his players become better footballers. They will have their own high pressure matches soon enough … and he doesn’t have the stuff for them.
Before long, he’ll be criticising his players again, reacting to their indiscipline and making impossible demands.
And when it starts to fall, it will fall fast … if we’re on hand to take advantage.
Look, forget what you think of the manager and forget what you think of the board. Put your faith and your trust in these players, in this team, in these men who have been over the course so often they could do it with blindfolds on. Trust them.
As per usual, our “friends” across town are jumping the gun.
I know what impact it will have on them if they are knocked out of Europe before the Groups. The impact on Celtic from last night will be keenly felt in terms of our pride and our standing … but actually, it makes very little difference to how the club is run, and it makes no difference to our domestic strength.
Our “rivals” are fools to think otherwise, but what else is new?