For many Ibrox fans, their last shred of hope that the title could be snatched back, even this late in the day, went by the boards the moment Kyogo Furuhashi rose and struck that header into the back of the net at the weekend. Their hope vanished like a snuffed out candle.
In the aftermath of the game, Kyogo gave an astonishing, and quite brilliant, interview to CelticTV where he talked about his joy at returning to the side and getting on the scoresheet.
He seemed to have been feeling very emotional about it.
And I heard it and thought, “Not half as emotional as other people were.”
Celtic fans got emotional about that goal. Of course we did.
The pub where I was watching it were rocking and not just because it was an important one but that he had scored it. There were times when it felt like we would never see his score again for us in this campaign, and whilst his brilliance in the early part of it was enough to make a hero out of him, that would have been beyond awful.
The relief and the pleasure of watching him do it was immense.
Fans across Scotland, those we’re about to face before the season ends, would not have been quite so optimistic. Indeed, I’m sure some of them harboured hopes, in vain, of never having to see Kyogo play against their sides again. Forlorn hope because this boy is going to be scoring goals for Celtic for quite a while to come.
I loved his interview. He gets it, all of it, and has already come to love this club and the support.
Working with a manager he knows well, and surrounded by his countrymen, Kyogo is only going to get better as time goes on.
Don’t forget; this guy was already midway through a domestic campaign when he signed for us.
With a summer rest and a proper pre-season, he will blow away the competition next season, and they know it and they are terrified by it.