Tony Ralston tells it true; nobody at Celtic cares what others are whingeing about.

Tony Ralston has become the first Celtic player to speak out after the weekend’s game, commenting on all the hysterical nonsense that has surrounded it, and I loved what he had to say. Basically, he doesn’t care.

Nobody at Celtic cares. Nobody at Celtic is paying the slightest bit of attention to all this foot-stamping, attention-seeking rubbish in the media.

The players, as you’ve seen from those clips and pictures of them all enjoying themselves at the darts, are far too busy celebrating their success and preparing for the next game to pay any heed to the assorted moon-howling.

In the previous piece, I said no one from the club had commented on any of this—and nor should we. While Ralston’s statement isn’t a direct comment on the controversy itself, it’s a clear message that we don’t care about the controversy.

And I’m delighted that this is the attitude inside the club. I’m delighted it’s the attitude of the players because part of the reason for all this hysteria—part of the reason it’s been whipped up for an entire week—is to distract from the people who deserve the spotlight: this exceptional Celtic team and its incredible record of success.

So much attention has been paid to the outpourings of fury and frustration, and not enough to Celtic and its fortitude.

I don’t care what the Ibrox manager thinks, and I don’t care what his media lackeys would have you believe. We were the better team. We deserved to win. The cup is back at Celtic Park, where it belongs, and we deserve every bit of the success.

Ralston’s words are music to my ears. When asked if he felt the nonsense detracted from what the players achieved, I’m glad he dismissed it—because, of course, it doesn’t. Although that is precisely what some are trying to do.

Yes, there are a lot of people who are hurting. But they’re perfectly entitled to hurt in private if that’s what they want. They’re perfectly entitled to tell themselves whatever comforting fairy stories they like. But the oblique suggestion that we only won the trophy because of bad officiating is simply not true. It doesn’t stand up to the slightest scrutiny.

Let me put it another way.

If the Ibrox club decided to go right off the deep end, as their fans often do, and demanded the game be replayed, I would be wholly opposed. The club would fight it tooth and nail and put blood on the walls to prevent it. But to be perfectly honest, my opposition would be based on principle and fairness. The move itself would be utterly pathetic, and I’d have concerns about its implications.

About the game itself? I would be fairly relaxed at the prospect of a replay. Why wouldn’t I be? I cannot imagine us playing that badly again, and I’m as certain now as I was before this game that we would comfortably take care of business.

To the goons banging the drum for a replay, I say, “Be careful what you wish for.” You have your little shred of pride left and your bedtime story about how you weren’t really beaten, just cheated. Don’t make us beat you properly. Don’t make us hurt you until your eyeballs bleed.

We’re better. It’s as simple as that. Even on a day when we were far from our best, we still scored three. We still won the cup. Comfort yourselves with your hard-luck story. It’s as good as it’s going to get.

The players know this. On our day, we’d have cleaned their clock, and this whole discussion would be redundant.

We got the job done. Ralston has said it himself. And if you listen to our manager and the players who spoke after the match, they know we didn’t get it done in style. So, while the Ibrox club and the media are tearing their hair out over bad refereeing, we’re conducting an internal audit of what we could have done better.

And that’s why I have no fears about Ibrox, no fears about some phoney baloney replay, and no concerns about what they might do for the rest of this campaign. Remember, any so-called Ibrox comeback depends on two factors: first, them being as good as they think they are—and I don’t believe they are—and second, us being less than what we know we are, which is laughable.

Let me put it this way. Our team is focused on how to improve even after we’ve won. Nobody is resting on their laurels or pretending the performance was flawless. We achieved our objective and won the cup, but the quest for improvement continues.

And what are they doing? Whinging that the SFA hates them. Peddling fantasies about how Celtic controls Scottish football. Beyond that? They’re clinging to the idea that there’s no gap between us and that they proved they could beat us … even though they haven’t. Here’s the reality: any team in the league is capable of beating us on their day, especially if we’re off ours.

That’s not a revelation. It’s not groundbreaking.

I see no sign that they’re learning lessons over there. They’re obsessed with hard-luck stories and moral victories. Their schizophrenic approach—accepting failure as normal while stamping their feet about the circumstances of defeat—doesn’t speak to a winning mentality. A winning mentality means finding ways to improve after victory and conducting a serious inquest after defeat.

Ralston is 100% right.

We’re focused on ourselves, celebrating our achievements, and moving forward to make more history. Let others navel-gaze. Let others indulge in blame-casting. Let others stomp their feet. We’re too busy cleaning up from one party and preparing for the next. That’s why we’re the cup holders. That’s why we’re champions.

Last night we put up our third podcast, Joyful & Triumphant. Please share it on social media friends.