Celtic found that most important quality today when we needed it; the character of winners.

Going into today’s game, I didn’t expect the worst first-half performance of the season. Well, except for Tuesday night’s disaster in Dortmund when we conceded five. At least this time, we went into halftime only one down, but Ross County were the only side showing the kind of application and desire in front of goal that wins matches.

To say the first-half performance was dreadful is an understatement. The build-up play was far too slow, and too many players were careless with the ball. Arne Engels had his worst 45 minutes since joining the club—and yes, I’m even including Tuesday night in that.

Everything about the first half was sluggish and painful to watch. It didn’t help that the officials were eager to give Ross County the type of protection only teams playing Celtic seem to receive. Every time one of their players hit the deck, they got a free kick. Judging by the stats, you’d think we were the dirtiest team in the league.

On days like this, every player needs to be at the top of their game. You know it’s going to be a battle, and you know there’s a hangover from Tuesday weighing on the whole team and club. It was glaringly obvious in that first half as we barely got out of second gear.

Everything that was wrong with this team during certain spells last season was on full display. The play was far too slow. The ball was passed backwards far too often. Players were static instead of moving into space. It’s as if all the lessons learned over the summer, which had seen us hit the ground running, were momentarily forgotten.

People always talk about character, and whether a team has it. Coming off the back of a bruising European defeat and being 1-0 down at halftime, the question of character becomes hugely important. Had the team convinced themselves they were better than they actually were before the Dortmund game? Was that a reality check that shook the club to its core?

Has it dented the confidence of players who perhaps believed they were at their peak, and that their performances justified the optimism many of us had going into that game? Maybe not that we’d win, but certainly that we could compete and make Dortmund sweat for the victory.

I think that’s what a lot of us were wondering at halftime. What now? How would this team respond? Do they have the resilience to drag themselves off the floor and get back into this match?

In every title race, in every campaign, there are days like this.

It’s about how you respond when they come, and how much grit you can show to claw your way out of trouble. That’s what separates the nearly-men from the sides that win things, over and over again. If Tuesday showed us how far we are from Europe’s top teams, today was about reminding ourselves that this side still has that resolve.

The second half wasn’t massively different from the first.

That’s the odd thing—it’s not as though we blew them away with dazzling football. We were maybe 5-10% better, but that marginal improvement, along with some key substitutions, swung the game in our favour. Of those subs, one player stood out head and shoulders above the rest—Paulo Bernardo. From the moment he came on, he steadied a midfield that had been all over the place in the first half and couldn’t string two passes together.

Bernardo made a huge impact, not by being a creative force or scoring goals, but by bringing a level of grit, determination, and composure that had been sorely missing. Hatate had his worst game in ages, Engels was dreadful, and up front big Adam Idah —who I expected to dominate—contributed little before being subbed. Kyogo didn’t offer much either; it was a poor day from the players whose job it is to get service to the strikers.

One of the worst players on the pitch for the first hour was Alistair Johnston. But after the subs came on, he settled and ended the game with a goal and an assist—turning him into one of our match-winners. And of course, the guy who got the decisive goal has been doing this all season. Nicolas Kuhn, finally running onto the ball, driving at the defence, and finding space to take the shot. He’s been a revelation, and it was brilliant to see him grab the winner.

I wonder if he knows that one of our mainstream media outlets had a go at him before he’d even kicked a ball for us. I doubt he would care if he did. He looks nothing like the player we signed last season—a player who, by the way, made some valuable contributions back then, but who has been on fire since the start of this campaign.

The team as a whole has been flying, but they weren’t today. They looked lethargic and short on ideas, and there were moments when you wondered where the goal would come from. This is where credit has to go to Ross County. They defended well and even with their threat to use every dark art in the book to frustrate us, they did a lot more than that, and gave us a hard first 60 minutes.

But as soon as the subs came on, and once Bernardo took control of the midfield, the real Celtic began to appear. From the moment we equalised, a winner felt inevitable.

You could see the players relax, take an extra second on the ball, and their confidence grew. In the end, we deserved the three points.

This team has character—real character.

It has players who can step up with moments of individual quality, like Kuhn’s winner today. It’s that extra bit of quality and determination that sets us apart. That’s why we’re the champions—because we have that winning mentality and the character of serial winners.

I thought this would be an easier game today. Ross County didn’t let it be, and at times, it felt like we were making it harder for ourselves. But the right substitutions and a decision to keep faith in our style of play found us that little bit extra and it got us over the line.

That’s a massive three points.

A routine victory would have been nice but it wouldn’t have put Tuesday night to bed. But having to dig deep for it has actually lifted my mood and in a way a big win wouldn’t have it has actually made me feel pangs of regret that we’re heading into these upcoming Celtic-less weeks. That’s better than I thought I’d feel today.

So, well done to the team.

And well done especially to Bernardo, Johnston, and Kuhn. To our captain, Callum McGregor, who never gave up for a minute. And to the fans, many of whom were in Germany and not long back home, but still made the trek to Dingwall to cheer us on to another victory.

Ladies and gents, that’s why we’re champions.