One of the subjects we covered on the Trinity Tims podcast last night was Wednesday’s upcoming game. Strangely, all of us admitted to feeling an odd, free-flowing anxiety about it—a feeling none of us would have expected a month ago. But things have gotten a little strange since then.
We had the cup final, which wasn’t our best performance, even though we eventually won the match. Conceding three goals in it was worrisome. Then came Ibrox, where conceding three without scoring was even more troubling. I think we might have gotten over both of those results if we hadn’t shipped another three at Dundee.
The Ibrox club, on its day, will throw everything against you. Their need in the cup final was extreme. Even in the league game at Ibrox—where the stakes weren’t as high—they had a point to prove and threw everything at that match. Their players worked harder than we’ve seen them work all season, and we had so many off-days it was embarrassing. But even that paled in comparison to the performance against Dundee. That’s the one that genuinely rattled people.
And now this game looms, bringing with it anxiety. We’ve seen what an SPFL club can do to us if they press us high up the pitch and hit us on the break. We’ve seen the damage that can cause, and that’s got a lot of people worried.
The question we tried to answer on the podcast was whether this anxiety is justified and how we think the game will go.
I said on the podcast that if we score an early goal, it’ll be a comfortable night. I also believe the manager is savvy enough to ensure we don’t repeat the mistakes we made in the two games against the Ibrox club and Dundee. We’re going to have to learn from those matches, and I’ve no doubt the manager has done just that. We even saw a minor tactical shift yesterday, which suggests he has.
It’s going to take a big performance and a more disciplined one than we’ve shown over the last month. But I also wonder if we’re anxious over nothing. We’re a good side when we get our act together, when we play our own brand of football. At home, in this competition, we should be good enough to overwhelm a side that sits bottom of the group and has nothing to play for.
I’m not downplaying the events of the last month. They happened, and we all watched them happen. But the idea that we’ve suddenly been “figured out,” that Rodgers is a busted flush, or that our tactics are transparent and easily countered—that’s nonsense. If I were in their shoes, I’d be far more afraid of us than we are of them.
Without wanting to sound complacent, I do think we’re jumping at shadows a bit. I wonder how much of this anxiety comes from the nonsense we read and hear in the media. Even when we try not to pay attention, some of it inevitably seeps in. And I wonder how much of it is simply wishful thinking on their part.
Because between the two teams, we’re the most dangerous. We’re just better. And with the Celtic Park crowd behind us, I expect these players to put on a show, send us through to the next round, and leave us wondering why we were ever worried.
What we need to do is show we’ve learned lessons.
I thought our weekend performance was very good in terms of the number of chances we created. Yes, we went to sleep for a spell, allowing them to get their goal, but we showed discipline overall. Austin Trusty, for example, acquitted himself well, which he had to after his showing at Dundee.
Imagine, for a moment, that the media’s demented fantasy is true—that we’re now a team everyone can figure out.
If that’s the case, why didn’t McInnes do a better job at the weekend? He might tell himself Kilmarnock was just unlucky or that they put in a good show and gave us a scare. But the truth is, we should have been five or six ahead before they got their goal. We should have won that game cleanly, with no difficulty at all.
I saw no sign in that match that we were rattled. No sign we were vulnerable to anything Kilmarnock threw at us. And let’s not forget, they stepped up their game against the Ibrox club at Rugby Park not so long ago. They gave them problems that day, but we were simply too good for them.
And I expect us to be too good for Young Boys. I expect a disciplined, compact game where we use our pace and power to cut them open at will. I expect an early goal and, from there, a comfortable night. If we get through this one, I think the road ahead—at least domestically—is clear.
This game has been playing on our minds for weeks. A month ago, it looked like an easy win. Now it’s seen as a potential banana skin, a match where we’ll be asked hard questions. But I think this team is ready to answer them.
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The latest Trinity Tims podcast is out now! We called this one The Bumps In The Road.
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Any game, regardless of opposition, tournament or circumstances, presents new challenges.
The ability to surmount these challenges and obstacles lies with the manager, coaching staff, and ultimately the players!
Despite some questionable performances of late, I firmly believe that we continue to be in a great and confident, all round state.
The Swiss boys will pose a few questions of us, on Wednesday, as you’d expect from any team in this competition !
However, it is all about Celtic, and the Celtic team that turns up for this huge tie !
It should be a momentous night, and with a very loud, capacity crowd backing the team, I fully expect us to turn in a tremendous performance.
Looking forward to it ! HH
Just worried about the number of games we have been playing but we should win.Young Boys seem to start ok but ship a number of goals in the second half.
Hopefully Aston Villa is a dead rubber to be enjoyed with no stress.
For me the key (& it’s an obvious one) is not switching off.
Against Ross County, Dundee & Kilmarnock we took the lead & then lowered our intensity almost as if ok we have the goal to build on it. All 3 then pushed back & punished us.
The Ibrox game is the real outlier because we were never switched on.
Dundee we switched off after our 2nd & it took until Dundee went ahead for us to switch on again.
We are the best team in Scotland by a mile but a higher work rate by an entire team can negate that.
We can’t allow complacency to slip into our ranks.
I understand BR stating the derby was a one off but we have had spells in every game since where we have allowed the opposition to pressure us. To just assume we will ride it out & be fine is a naive for me but I do trust that BR & the entire celtic squad will address this.
We’re not necessarily conceding more goals but it feels like we are letting in cheaper goals.
Something I wouldn’t mind seeing on Wednesday to offer some more security to the defense would be playing Scales at LB as was teased on Saturday.
I think that has the potential to offer us some better defensive security & LB is a position Scales is very comfortable with.
In recent weeks more & more Taylor it drifting into the middle of the pitch which must be tactical but he is failing to return to the position consitently which is forcing Trusty to cover wide leaving a large gap between our 2 CBs. With AJ pushing far up the pitch too it’s leaving us vulnerable on counters.
Our F/B’s at Celtic are used tactically both wide and in midfield, and if sometimes the other team break on us quickly, both Taylor and Johnston and anyone else playing there can be caught out of position through no fault of their own.
Against The Rangers and against Dundee both Scales and Trusty were weak and that left us badly exposed. I think our F/B’s especially Taylor are sometimes criticised unfairly for the weakness of others.
BR will sort this out starting on Wed, this season will finish in glory.
Yeah I know they come inside into midfield. Reading my post back I didn’t make my point clear.
For me Taylor gets too comfortable staying in the middle.
Almost like he is expecting the front 3 to regain possession from the press or something.
Which means trusty has to stay out wider & as you say puts pressure on other players.
I think Taylor has given his all for the club but I think it is the correct time we find a viable replacement for him. If we could keep him as a squad player great but I wouldn’t blame him for not accepting that role.
He is the weakest link in the starting 11, I’m not saying he’s dreadful but he is clearly the person opposition teams target. Maeda can protect him with his work rate at times but being caught completely out of position is not acceptable for me.
Taylor’s work rate is a testament to himself, as what he lacks in ability he does make up for.
But it’s just a fact he shouldn’t be a starter for us. Especially if the club is going to align with fan ambition & try make more of an impact in Europe.
I agree with a lot of your points, all I would say about the never ending Taylor debate among the fans is, that we’ll find it hard to find a suitable replacement for him at a price that suits Celtic, and one that can also fit into the system our manager wants us to play in.
I would love to see Tierney and Taylor at the club but whether Celtic would pay the wages to cover both, is questionable. Keiran is a gamble worth taking in my opinion, but you would definitely need adequate cover for him, with Taylor and Scales still at the club I think we would have that.
I think that for the 1st time for a good few weeks we will be up for this game big time, and I can see us winning reasonably comfortable. We’ve recently relaxed in games after taking the lead, except for the Ibrox game where we relaxed after 5 mins and never got started again. This is a habit by his players that BR will have to get them to eradicate from their game. This game on Wed is most definitely one of the key games of the season and will need 100% concentration for the 90 mins.
I’ll be glad to get this transfer window out of the way, the continuous speculation can unsettle players. On this subject I’m hearing that no contract offer was on the table for Taylor until the past couple of weeks. If this is true I think it’s been pretty disrespectful to a player who has given his all for the club and the past two managers with his effort and also tactically.
There are a couple of interesting anologies regarding this crunch game…
They are off a break so should have plenty energy – But will they be match fit – Or lack sharpness on the night…
We have had a glut of games – Match sharpness not a problem but fatigue ?
We will need to box clever on the park…
They will have had us watched of late (or certainly should have had us watched for sure) – Fear not However, there will be a multitude of The Scummy’s on hand to hand them dossier after dossier on Celtic, nothing is surer than that for certain…
We will also have to box clever off the park as well (as in fans attending)…
If we go a goal down nervous energy from the stands could well transmit itself onto the field of play for sure and the team will need the fullest of patience and support…
I think we will do it 2-0 or 2-1at worst…
Here’s Fuckin Hopin !!!
For a while in that killie game mckinnes tweaked his game to have his men right in the face of our back 4 stopping the play out. That change led to the goal. There, in full view is the achilles heel of the style. You dont need packed defences just stop the play out.. killie dont have full fitness men to do it for overly long but better teams do and will