Celtic Are Preparing To Face A Full Strength Team In The Weekend Game.

Last night, the club across the city held another of their laughable press conferences, where you could have got the number of attendees in a phone box.

Although there were major and massive issues to discuss those asking the questions were abysmally lax in doing so.

Graham Spiers described it as “farcical” and suggested that fans who do want answers should be concerned. It echoes what this site wrote a week ago on the same subject; this isn’t healthy for any organisation, except for one which doesn’t want scrutinised.

I watched the press conference carefully and I listened to McAllister and what I see is a club continuing to play cynical games with this crisis.

There was no reason why he couldn’t have said yesterday that a couple of the “close contacts” had been double vaccinated and therefore would be able to play in the weekend’s game.

The Armenian government and the Scottish government have two different sets of rules.

Ibrox knows exactly who will be available and who won’t be.

They simply won’t declare that.

The only reason not to is that they intend to spring it on Celtic as an unpleasant last minute “surprise.”

Nobody at Parkhead – where we are well aware of what that club is up to – will be taken in by this pitiful charade for one minute. Celtic expects to field a full-strength Ibrox team and Ange and the players will be preparing for that near certainty.

I will be surprised – very surprised – if they are missing more than one or two players.

At least one of the goalkeepers will be fit. I suspect Kent will play; indeed, there are pictures purporting to be of him out playing golf yesterday and if they are real he’s not self-isolating at all.

Reports on the Ibrox sites suggest he has a slight injury which is why he didn’t travel.

Ibrox is doing what it’s done right from the start of this; looking to exploit the situation by creating uncertainty around the status of their players. Celtic will pay no heed to it.

We will be prepared for whoever they put out on the park … and then we’ll find out whether they are prepared for us.

I personally want them at full strength so that there are no excuses when we win.