Celtic Is Supposed To Fear Ibrox. But We Were Supposed To Fear Other Grounds Too.

Remember earlier in the season where we supposed fear visiting Easter Road? Or Tynecastle? Or Pittodrie? Or, God help us, Almondvale and its grotesque plastic surface? Every away ground held terrors for us.

Our away record was quoted endlessly.

Not only has this Celtic site endured, but it has managed to overcome as well.

We have gone everywhere and won, even Hampden, under the greatest pressures of all, the pressure that comes when a newly minted boss competes for his first honours at a club.

We have done it all except this one thing, and that begs the question:

Why should we fear, in any way, this one thing?

Ibrox is just another ground. We’ve beaten the club which plays there comprehensively. When we went there and lost earlier in the season it was with a squad not even half as good as the one we have right now, and before players were settled into their roles.

And for all that, we had 62% possession on the day.

Had Edouard been in the mood we’d have taken at least a point from that game, and probably won it.

Every time, this season, we were supposedly heading for our Waterloo we’ve turned up, put on a show and left with the three points. Even Livingston’s horrific ground was visited and bested in the course of the last few months.

We’ve done it all.

What’s more, we’ve got to Leverkusen and got goals.

We’ve gone to Spain and taken a 2-0 lead, and whilst people will point out that we didn’t win those games they presented us with a far greater challenge than the home side is likely to at the weekend.

We are tighter at the back than we were for those games. We are more secure.

Our players now understand the system, and we have better footballers available to us.

The scale of the beating we gave them at Parkhead suggests a gulf in class heavily favouring our team.

But it’s Ibrox that is supposed to intimidate us.

I’m sure that it doesn’t. I’m sure our players are relishing the trip.

I know most of my fellow fans are, and the idea that we should fear it … well, it’s laughable.