The SPFL Is Denying Ibrox Its Martyrdom Myth By Holding Scheduling Talks With Them.

Last night, Ibrox did the inevitable and made its ludicrous demand to cancel the Celtic fixture and re-arrange that game until God knows when. Today the SPFL appears to have responded. They are holding talks with their club about rescheduling a fixture, but it’s the Motherwell match and not the one involving us. This is actually very smart.

Celtic would never have agreed to a rescheduled fixture and nor should we. We want that game played on the appropriate date, as it may be a title decider and our fans deserve the opportunity to see it. Ibrox was howling at the moon to even think of it.

But nor could the SPFL simply refuse to discuss any changes with them, because that would have allowed Ibrox to play its favourite role; that of the put-upon victim, forced to conform to a schedule that was set by those nasty people in the governing body.

In a perfect world, of course, the SPFL would have simply said that the fixtures are set and other clubs in Europe have to get on with it. But we know that the media here would have leaped off the deep end of paranoia and hysteria.

So would Ibrox.

This denies both their latest stab-in-the-back nonsense.

If Motherwell agree, let that game be brought forward a day or two. Nobody will be adversely impacted by that.

Ibrox may bitch and moan anyway. Their fans might howl at the moon.

But what’s new?

The whole reason for asking for a postponement of the Celtic game was about PR; there was never any realistic prospect of it happening and they knew it. So the SPFL has offered to accommodate them in another fashion, and that’s smart and it blunts the edge of any future complaint.

But the Ibrox club is utterly without shame.

When the league’s winter break was brought forward they were the very Peepul squealing about how there was no time in the schedule for it and how the fixture list was congested already. Now they want it moved about to suit their own agenda … there is no consistency to a thing they say or a thing they do.

To give you an example of what other clubs have to get on with, Leipzig play a league game on the Monday night before they travel to Ibrox … the German FA may or may not respond favourably to a request to reschedule that, but that depends on Leipzig even making the request. Yet to listen to the crazies, the entire schedule has been built this way to harm their chances.

The SPFL has done the smart thing here in offering to talk about the Motherwell game.

Deny the club from Ibrox any excuses, deny them any reason to moan. They will anyway. But as in 2008, the decision to assist them in any way is more than we got in 2003, something the media never talks about and never will.