Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Rangers v Celtic - Ibrox, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - August 31, 2025 Celtic's Reo Hatate in action with Rangers' Connor Barron REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Celtic’s storming performance last night was the best we’ve seen this season. It lifted morale right across the support and reminded everyone what this team can do when it plays with purpose. For the first time in months, it felt like watching Celtic again. Just in time to play the Ibrox club at the weekend.
As I said in my first article today, we didn’t reinvent the wheel. We made a simple series of stylistic changes and liberated the team. It was great to watch.
Meanwhile, the Ibrox club came within inches of another disaster. Hibs missed a last-minute penalty that would have completely changed the story. That miss put a gloss on what was otherwise an uninspiring performance. If the penalty had gone in, the club from Ibrox would be further behind Celtic and still behind Hearts.
The penalty was not the only chance Hibs missed. Had things gone just a little better for the home side, the conversation around Rohl and his team today would be very different.
However, instead of recognising this and approaching the weekend with humility or perspective, what we’ve had is arrogance. The noise from across the city is the same old bluster. They think two wins in a row makes them contenders again. They talk about being “back in business” as if they’ve just conquered Europe.
Connor Barron even claimed they’ll win at the weekend. That’s a bold statement. It’s also arrogant. Even with Celtic still rebuilding, it’s a wild assumption to make.
They can’t help themselves. They never can. Every time they string two results together, they start talking like champions. Hibs’ missed penalty wasn’t their only lucky break. The home side had other chances to score and blew them too. It was a tight game, yet all at Ibrox seem to be swaggering again as if they’ve just beaten Real Madrid.
It’s delusional. It’s the same old pattern. They live in their own reality.
Celtic aren’t firing on all cylinders yet, but that front-foot approach last night was the best football of the season. The energy, the tempo, the pressing — it all looked different. Whatever happens next, one thing’s certain: Celtic won’t play the slow, possession-for-its-own-sake stuff that’s plagued recent months. At Hampden, we’ll go for the throat.
Martin O’Neill’s presence in the dressing room adds another spark. Few managers in modern Celtic history have a record against Ibrox like his. He thrives on big occasions. This squad has looked burdened for months, but O’Neill can lift that weight. He knows how to make players believe again. When Celtic plays with freedom, we’re a hard team for anyone to stop.
Don’t underestimate how much of a role the mentality thing plays in this. O’Neill apparently went into the dressing room last night and reminded these guys that they are champions. Winners. That had an impact. How could it not? He told the literal truth, and he put in their heads the belief that has been missing for months.
This is why the Ibrox confidence is misplaced. If Rodgers were still in charge, maybe they’d have cause for such blind optimism. He faced them repeatedly and failed to adapt. Barry Ferguson didn’t invent anything new; he simply copied Philippe Clement’s plan. Even Russell Martin managed to frustrate us using similar tactics. When you play the same system repeatedly and keep failing, you’re not learning.
That won’t happen at Hampden. O’Neill and Maloney will have tweaks ready. Nothing dramatic, but subtle changes that can throw the opposition off. Last night’s shift wasn’t huge, but it worked. A few stylistic adjustments made a world of difference. Expect more of that. Expect something unexpected.
If the Ibrox side believes it only needs to turn up to book a place in the final, it’s in for a shock. It’s typical of them to act as though Celtic are some bottom-six pushover waiting to be humiliated. That arrogance is their defining trait. It’s baked into their DNA — that false sense of superiority and entitlement.
Celtic’s performance doesn’t prove we’ve turned a corner. One result doesn’t fix everything, and we’re still a work in progress. But it reminded us how good we can be and for that reason alone, this is not the same Celtic that looked lost a week ago.
This version will cause problems for them. Big ones.
They have some nerve. Two wins have propelled them to third place, but not long ago they were eighth. They might want to save the boasting until after Sunday. They never do. It’s cost them before, and it will cost them again.
I’m more confident now than I was, that’s fir sure.
On Monday, with Rodgers still in charge, my son reckoned Falkirk were in with a shout for three point. I was more cautious, hoping for one point. Could O’Neill not have waited till today to start?
To me it’s a game that could do either way…
For a start check The cheats with monitors team (VAR)…
Taking that outta the equation they’ll have a confident swagger as they always do after two wins…
Please Celtic – Do Whatever it takes to stop them making it three…
I won’t hear Scummy Scottish Football Media side of it as I don’t buy and will only listen for schadenfreude if our beloved Hoops prevail…
But I do have to meet them from time to time in pubs and while some are ‘reasonable’ (ie Sevco fans and not Huns) if you encounter a few of them especially being Micky Mouse Cup Champions Elect (Didn’t they say they were Scottish Cup Champions once) they can be an arrogant fuckin nightmare…
C’mon The Hoops – Don’t put any of through that scenario in the above paragraph !
I thought we played well last night, but I was not as impressed as you seem to be James. It’s a step in the right direction and a timely boost to our confidence and I do hope we can build on that come the weekend, but let us not get carried away with ourselves either.
I’m sure MON will have us up for it and I’m confident our players will respond accordingly to his encouragement.
Well well James, some of us have been saying hat BR had lost the plot for the past 10 months, glad you’ve come round to our way of thinking. To have only one way of playing is a real weakness for any manager, I always support a Celtic manager and hoped that he would recover his mojo, but for some reason BR was not for turning and stuck to his rigid possession at all cost style of play, the gambling with a killer pass or a long ball behind a high line wasn’t on the menu for Celtic players. Good luck to Brendan I hope he finds another club to work his one trick pony magic for two years as he did with Celtic twice, Liverpool and Leicester before moving on.
I’m not getting carried away with last night, but I do think The Rangers [2012] will for the 1st time this year be meeting a team who will come out the traps fast and take the game to The Rangers, rather than being caught in the headlights and hemmed in for the 1st 20 mins, as has happened in almost every Glasgow derby under BR.
Only saw the highlights of them last night, but it looks to me that other than the goalkeeper, that huns defence is vulnerable, they don’t like playing against pace and I’m sure MON abd Maloney will have noticed this. Both teams are probably short of a few players in key positions, but for once in a long time I think the shackles will be off our players.
Well let’s hold our sneering until Sunday evening. That said I feel a lot happier going in with MON than BR.
Seems to me that for James it’s a case of “the architect is dead, long live the builder who knows how to deliver.” For me a big part of our problem has been the fascination with domestic trebles. I would rather we prioritise games and use the league cup for development, and who cares who wins it – being club champion at the local golf club doesn’t make you a standout player.
So as far as Sunday is concerned, I don’t give a damn as long as we play some fringe players to see what they have got and to rest some of our major players for league and Europe.
Sorry but this is ‘the same Celtic that looked lost a week ago’, the same strikers, midfield and defence.
MON coming in after 1 game with a new manager bounce hasn’t changed that.
We ran Sturm Graz ragged last week with a similar xg and BR. You think Maloney is now going to be the tactical genius? This is the same guy you were dreading in our dugout a couple of weeks ago,what’s changed?
I think nothing except a fresh new face in MON with different ways to inspire but will it last ?
No it won’t,why would it?
Are these same players going to become much better and start winning everything ?
No they aren’t and it’s wrong to build them up and expect them to.
Remember this is the team designed to make BR fail,destroy the quality, make it unbalanced and with guys who didn’t want to be there or are to old / to stale.
And somehow they are now going to be winning Colossuses?
MONs successful teams before were full of expensive, experienced high quality players like Sutton etcetera ,is this similar?
No it’s the opposite bar a few old timers like Cal,JF,KS .
New manager bounce and the fact TRFC are not good could precipitate a win on Sunday yes,but remember this team was designed to fail.