Celtic fans know the truth; an awful lot might be decided this December.

At the risk of turning this into “Phil Clement Day,” I’ll tell you this is the first of three pieces I’ll be publishing on the man. But this one’s a little different. It’s not directly about him, but about one of his recent statements: that “nothing gets decided in December.”

Under normal circumstances, this would be a fairly uncontroversial statement. But in the current context, it doesn’t hold up. Because, to me, this December feels different. It carries a weight and significance unlike any we’ve experienced in years gone by.

I can’t remember a December where so much has been on the line. The entire season may not be decided in the next few weeks, but its shape and direction absolutely will be.

By the end of this month, we’ll have a clear sense of our position in the Champions League. A win in Zagreb could all but secure our place in the next stage. Even if the final outcome will depend on the playoff rounds, we’ll have shown that we’ve adapted well to this new format. That would be an achievement in itself, one that builds confidence for future campaigns.

Domestically, we could have one trophy in the bag and an invincible treble firmly in our sights. That’s the kind of talk the club will want to keep in check for now, but by the end of December, it could become the narrative for the season.

And then there’s tonight’s match at Pittodrie, the home of our closest challengers. If we win there, it’s hard to see a scenario where we drop many points—let alone lose games—between now and the end of the campaign. Ibrox looms early in January, not December, but even then, it’s another chance to lay down a marker.

We could emerge from this month with a commanding lead over Aberdeen and an even larger gap over the club across the city. With our game in hand, we might be looking at a double-digit advantage. Coming out of what many thought would be the hardest stretch of our season with such a lead would be massive. Title races have been called on much shakier evidence than that—sometimes by the very people now echoing Clement’s statement.

Nobody rational will be celebrating the league title this early, but it’s difficult not to imagine us being well on our way to at least a double, with the Scottish Cup to complete the set.

And of course, December might decide something else: the future of Clement himself. He’s surviving match to match, and many believe the new CEO arriving at Ibrox has been deliberately timed. If Celtic his club in the final next Sunday —an entirely plausible outcome—it’s likely that one of the CEO’s first acts will be to sack him.

So when Clement says things don’t get decided in December, it’s entirely possible that his own fate will be.

The implications of that are significant—not just for this season, but for the next one and beyond. Another managerial sacking at Ibrox would plunge them into a deeper crisis than they’ve faced since they crawled out of Rangers’ grave in 2012.

The financial cost of paying off yet another manager and his backroom team could have long-term consequences, further destabilising the club.

It would reinforce the perception that they are a club trapped in a self-destructive cycle. The task facing any incoming manager would be monumental: limited resources, a squad in disarray, and the prospect of facing a Celtic side stronger than it has been in years.

That makes the Ibrox job increasingly unappealing. Add to that the fact that they’d have sacked a third manager in a row before the turn of the year, and the optics couldn’t be worse.

While our Champions League fate may not be fully decided by the end of December, we’ll know where we stand. While the league title won’t be official, the path to it could be all but secured. And while the treble won’t yet be won, we could be tantalisingly close.

December could also be the month where Philippe Clement is put out of his misery.

For all his claims that “nothing will be decided,” we could decide everything. We may not cross the finish line in the next four weeks, but we could put every major goal—domestic and European—firmly within our grasp.

And that’s an extraordinary thought to carry into this month.

The first episode of our re-launched podcast, The Trinity Tims, is live now. Please like, subscribe and share folks. We’re calling this one The Opening Goal.