Celtic’s Rivals Fear The Green Machine. Today, Let’s Show Them Why Bhoys.

Over on the forums of our rivals last night there was much discussion about how this is the most low-key approach to a semi-final of the Scottish Cup – and especially one against us – that any of them can remember. Some of them have taken to saying that’s because their “European run” has become more important. That’s not the real reason though.

The real reason is that this game scares the living daylights out of them. They don’t think they will win it. They see the Green Machine fully revved now, and they suspect that there’s nothing they can do to stop it. Sometimes it just seems written in the stars. Some teams have the mark of winners on them and other just have the Mark of Cain.

Celtic is in better shape than most of us can remember in years, and whilst the club across the city is being hyped to the max there are few of us who are in the least bit concerned by what we’re reading. Do they look like European semi-finalists? They are, but do they strike fear into your heart the way a side at that stage of the competition should?

Or let me put it another way; would you have felt afraid of Braga had they beaten them in the last round? Or Red Star if they’d gotten this far?

Celtic goes into this game as favourites for a very good reason; we are rolling. We are smoking. We are looking like winners, like champions, like a team that is cruising towards a treble. Wins over our rivals at Celtic Park and then on their home turf have made us naturally confident and there’s nothing wrong with being confident on a day like this.

The reason for the low-key run up to this is that they would rather be anywhere else today but Hampden, coming up against this team of ours. They have their excuses primed already, which is a sure sign that they don’t expect to win. “Oh we had to play 120 minutes on Thursday” is just one of them, which they will find a way to turn on the SFA for scheduling this game when a Scottish Cup semi-final is usually played.

Some in the media – like Matthew Lindsay – have already tried to strip away any credit we are due for the season so far, but these people cannot influence events on the pitch, only stand on the side-lines whining pitifully. Even Keevins has tipped us to win today, with a pathetic retraction of every word he wrote at the start of the season about how we would finish third and all the gushing praise he poured on Van Bronckhorst too.

Shameless. But no less pitiful for his lack of self-awareness.

We’ve all been looking forward to this today since the draw was made, and a fully rested Celtic team goes into this awesomely well prepared for the encounter. I am personally counting down the minutes until kickoff. I know why none of them are.