They Will Try To Hit Us Early Today, So Celtic Should Shock & Awe Them.

Most people expect that the Ibrox club will approach todays game aggressively by coming at us right out of the traps. That depends on two things; their having the bottle for it and us not choosing that strategy instead. That’s where I think the theory falls down dead.

Because when you look at Celtic’s selection dilemma today, and the lack of match time for some of the best players in our team, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that what we might do is go for Shock And Awe, by fielding the best eleven we can knowing some of them won’t last the 90 minutes, but trying to win the game early in recognition of that fact.

When I wrote the other day about Sun Tzu it dawned on me that this is one of his principal stratagems. He warned generals and leaders against long, protracted wars. We have the players here to play a style of football that blitzes them into oblivion early. I don’t believe for one minute that we will allow them to settle into their rhythm. I think we’ll go after them.

And if we do that and if Kyogo and others have their shooting boots on then this could be over very early and we might all be able to enjoy the day relaxed and happy and sure of a place in the final. The longer the game goes on the more difficult getting the result becomes. We do not want it turning into a slog far less a grind. An early goal is not enough … we have to be looking to do to them today what we did in the first halves at Celtic Park this season and last.

End the match as a contest in the first 45 minutes. It fits with our style of football and Ange’s philosophy. It gels perfectly with the approach we had to those Celtic Park matches. This team was not built for, or to play, containment football. It was built for this.

So don’t be surprised if we use Hatate and Abada’s lack of match fitness to our advantage. Play them from the start and try to win the game in the early stages. We’ve seen it done by Celtic sides in the past, and by this one pretty recently.

It is the last thing the club across the city will expect, lost in their own egos and themselves determined to try to hurt us early. I’d be very surprised if this wasn’t our approach.