Celtic holds the commanding position. All talk of an “Ibrox comeback” is meaningless.

It’s a good thing Celtic will play their first game in a week this Sunday. It’s been a busy, busy month. And it’s not over yet, with a little more business to handle. But it looks as though we’ll complete December having done the job required—with just one hanging thread: Europe, where we still have work to do.

For the most part, though, it’s been a solid December. It’s the month we hoped for, with maximum points in the league so far—a difficult achievement during such a testing run—and the first trophy of the campaign secured. The League Cup is in the bag. The first leg of the treble is complete.

Aside from the tiresome narrative we’ve been hearing for the last five days, another constant has been the parade of pundits assuring us that the club from Ibrox is still in the title race. Well, I hate to break it to them, but that’s not entirely within their gift. If we win and keep on winning, they won’t catch us no matter what.

If this title race is alive, it will only be because we fell asleep at the wheel—because we made mistakes. But this team doesn’t look like one liable to make those mistakes.

As I said in an earlier piece, we spent the past week analysing where we went wrong in a cup final that we won. The whole club is laser-focused on improvement. Brendan Rodgers has been in Dublin discussing transfers and strengthening the squad. This is not a club sitting back, putting its feet up, and taking the title for granted. Far from it.

Right now, preparations are underway to make a statement of intent—by the time the January window closes, we’ll aim to be stronger than we were when it opened. That’s why I appreciated Alistair Johnston’s comments about how everyone at Celtic knows the job isn’t done. Yes, we have a substantial lead. We could afford an off day, even two, and remain in a commanding position. But we’re determined not to have off days. We’re determined not to allow our rivals even a sliver of hope, regardless of whether they manage to maintain their form—which I doubt they will.

Brendan was spot on about the significance of the League Cup win. It rewards the players for their hard work so far and validates what’s been an exceptional first part of the season. Grabbing the first silverware of the campaign ties together all the positives and builds momentum. I felt that on the day we beat Hibs to secure the League Cup in Ange’s first season—I knew then we’d go on to win the league. That momentum carried us forward, and it’s the same now.

Even the players who hadn’t previously won silverware now have. Those who weren’t part of trophy-winning sides before are integrating into a team built on success. You can see the togetherness in this squad. Look at the pictures from their night out at the darts—they’re a unit, a group with a fantastic spirit.

That camaraderie matters. But what matters more is focus and the will to keep winning.

Some believe teams that win a lot lose their hunger, that managers must break them up to rekindle that drive. But there’s no sign of that happening here. If anything, the media deserves some credit for keeping us sharp. Instead of reading praise for this exceptional team, players who keep up with the press have been bombarded, this week, with the Ibrox hard luck story and the narrative about how there’s no gap.

One of the smartest things Brendan did last season was reminding the players that a whole industry of pundits wanted to see us fail. Some were gunning for him personally. He turned that into motivation, one of the reasons we secured the double.

This week, our players have had more time to reflect on the hostile media environment. They know most of the hacks would love to see us slip up. That awareness helps them stay sharp, although this squad hardly needs extra motivation. It’s just another reminder of what’s at stake.

With the consistency we’ve shown so far, I don’t see where they’re clawing back an 11-point gap. Especially not when we still have three games against them to play. Given Rodgers’ record, we should manage at least a win and a draw from those matches, though I think we’ll do a lot better than that.

The talk of their resurgence means nothing. Even if their form has improved, it’s irrelevant unless we falter. And we won’t.

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