Motherwell Are Confident Of Beating Us. That Should Be Music To Celtic Ears.

I like Stewart Kettlewell’s confidence. He thinks that his team has a right good chance of getting something from the Celtic game, perhaps even a victory. That’s the kind of attitude I want from the people we’re going up against. It guarantees a good game.

Not for Kettlewell the kind of rancid performance that Livingston turned in last night, one devoid of guts and ambition to even challenge in the game. Kettlewell didn’t play that way when he was at Ross County, and it’s no surprise to see his Motherwell side doing well.

Nevertheless, Celtic fans should be pleased that he’s said that he fancies their chances and hope that he intends to stick to his principles. Unfortunately for him, a team that wants to come out and have a go at us stands a good chance of getting hurt. But without the risk there is no reward, and either way it will be a better game of football to watch.

There are, in spite of the likes of Martindale and McInnes and that deadening style of football they play against us, shoots of positivity springing up. Robson continues to impress at Aberdeen and Hibs have appointed a manager in the Ange mould; suddenly they look dangerous and are playing well and scoring goals. That’s more like it.

Celtic fans are sick and tired of watching teams attempt the same turgid style every time we play against them; that “sit back and soak up the pressure” stuff. We want to see sides having a go, we want to see teams at least try and win … which is why certain teams are more interesting to play than others. We always, for example, get a game against Hearts, no matter who is in the dugout. That makes every win against them feel all the more satisfying.

Which isn’t to say that there isn’t pleasure to be derived from visiting one of those clubs where the management don’t like us much and they try everything they can to stifle us and winning in spite of it.

Doing it with ten men last weekend made it all the sweeter.

But I am looking forward to Motherwell this weekend, in no small part because we’ll actually see some football getting played in that game. The boss has a lot of decisions to make, but they are easier, and more open, without us having to experience the hell of a plastic pitch.

He’s right; we’ve taken a mental step with the win at the weekend.

Now we have to take another one and won this latest away game.

Remember what I said after Ibrox; if we win these four away from home, and the two trips to Edinburgh are still to come, this title is ours to lose. A win on Saturday gets us to the halfway point. We’re almost there.