Celtic Fans Get The Best News We Could Have Wished For … But It’s Tempered With Caution.

The news from Brendan’s presser today was good. Or at least, it was as good as it’s going to get. The captain was back in training, as we would all have seen this morning from the pictures. But the boss has pointed out that he’s not fully match-fit and might not be for a few weeks. Nevertheless, he has hailed Callum’s miraculous ability to heal.

He will play on Sunday. Perhaps not 90 minute, but he is in the side.

So we are going to Ibrox with near-enough a full squad to choose from, and with the manager in the box seat. If we didn’t also have Beaton out on the pitch officiating, I think we’d have the makings of a very good afternoon. The worry is the ref.

And Rodgers also deftly handled that.

The hacks were clearly looking for him to say something controversial, but he didn’t do it. I don’t believe we’re as relaxed behind the scenes as we are in public; we cannot possibly be. But the boss isn’t walking into any obvious bear traps here, and his diplomatic answer to the inevitable Beaton question was just fine.

All the news was good today. As good as it could have been anyway.

The team is going to be as close to full strength as we can get it, although there is probably no way that Callum finishes the match. So, the question is, do we start him or bring him on later in the match? For me, that could be the most critical question of the afternoon.

It was not the only area where Rodgers sounded a little cautious. He talked about us not needing to win; he’s right, of course, because a draw gives us a real chance to go top when they come to Parkhead and that’s a major advantage we have. But he knows that a win is what it’s all about, because if we can secure that then it’s going to be ours to lose.

I can’t express enough my happiness that Callum McGregor was in training today and is ready to play some part in the game. He really is a walking miracle at times, is the captain, and that leadership will be crucial on the day. I would be tempted to start him, to try and win the game before we have to take him off for his own good. But Rodgers may feel differently.

Either way, this is the sort of thing you bring in a top coach and pay him the big bucks for. We’ve had the lift we all needed, we’ve got the news we all wanted, and whilst it’s not perfect it’s a far cry from where we thought we might be a month or so ago when it looked as if we might go into this with a half-fit Hatate and no McGregor or Carter Vickers at all.

We’re almost there now, almost at Sunday. We can start looking forward to it.