Celtic Fans Should Be Delighted With The Post-Split Fixture List … Except For One Thing.

The post-split fixture list is out, a little earlier than a lot of us thought, and I have to say, having looked over it, I am reasonably pleased with how it looks. The three toughest games are grouped together in the middle, but the first two are at home and the third is on a Wednesday night when the issues might well already have been settled in our favour.

If not, then the Wednesday night game at Kilmarnock is my own quibble; coming in the second to last of the fixtures, if we’ve won our games up until then (and provided Ibrox’s hapless lot only slip against us) that’s our league decider.

An away game in front of only a couple of thousand of our own fans, and that’s provided Kilmarnock don’t bring in a sudden cut in the numbers, which to be frank I would not put past them at all.

A Wednesday night league clincher away from home is not ideal. But we all know, if we’re being honest, that if we’ve won the first three fixtures (Dundee away, Hearts at home and then the Ibrox club) that we’re champions anyway. Because we can afford to lose that one at that stage, and still clinch the title at home to St Mirren with a win on the last day.

The Ibrox club fans seem a little miffed with certain elements of their fixture list; namely one home game out of two on a Saturday whilst our three home games are all on a Saturday. They also have to go to Tynecastle for the final match, whilst we’re at home.

They seem to think they have some narrow advantage playing us first twice; I think, actually, if they can handle the psychological pressure of that it’ll be a minor miracle. They also have one day less than us to prepare for their game against Dundee at home; they play that on the Tuesday after a Saturday 12 o’clock. Cue some inevitable moaning over that.

But in truth, they are clutching at straws and they know it. All we have to do is win our next two matches and then it’s them at home. Win that and we’re all but over the line. The maths is simple enough to do on the back of a napkin, even for them.

We got the tricky away game exactly when we’d have wanted it; when the other major issues are already decided. If we go into that game, that night, ahead by four or more then it’s already as good as over and they know it, and that’s why this has worked out well for us. I am happy with that fixture list, especially three home games on a Saturday.

The last one is pencilled in as a flag day. That’s the other thing worth noting.

I think overall that things are set up nicely for us now here. There’s nothing complicated about it, and the SPFL haven’t given us the toughest possible start by sending us to Rugby Park, not that any of us should be in the least bit concerned about that prospect at the moment, as we’ve upped our game to the point where I think we can win all five of these.

But one game at a time, and the first of them is in Dundee. Win that, and then it’s home against Hearts. Nothing complicated. Even in the horrendous event that the Dundee game gets postponed because of the weather – and you better believe there will be an outcry if anyone even suggests moving it to a “neutral” venue – it won’t affect the job in front of us.

This is now ours to lose, and the map towards the treasure has been laid out.