Celtic should be aware of the rough-house tactics to come.

Yesterday we did a piece on how the current argument over decisions that have gone Celtic’s way is grounded in a much larger intent. The purpose is not simply to debate one or two incidents. The purpose is to paint Celtic as a club that benefits regularly from refereeing decisions.

Once that narrative is established, it becomes a weapon.

Yesterday Paddy Sinat at 67 Hail Hail wrote a very good piece about the Motherwell manager and his claim that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may have been lucky to avoid a red card at the weekend.

Predictably, the media went out and found a couple of experts willing to agree with that point of view. That is how these things usually work. A manager makes a complaint, the media finds a voice to support it, and the conversation suddenly becomes about Celtic getting away with something.

But as Paddy pointed out last night, there is a stinking hypocrisy at the centre of this campaign.

You can find far worse tackles on Celtic players from the last couple of seasons. Tackles by players already on bookings. Tackles by players who were not on bookings, but who could easily have been sent off for the challenge itself.

In many of those cases no card was shown at all.

We could sit here all day listing them. Paddy listed one.

And the one he listed happens to be the one that blows the entire case apart. It was the tackle on Kieran Tierney not that long ago. A number of us covered that incident at the time in something close to disbelief.

It was one of those moments where everyone watching could see exactly what had happened. The kind of challenge that managers go on television to complain about for weeks. Yet nothing happened.

No red card and no outrage. No panel of experts explaining that Celtic had been the victims of a terrible decision.

Which brings us to the wider issue.

I have lost count of the number of managers who have stood in front of the media over the years begging referees to protect their best players. It is a familiar tactic. The Ibrox club used it constantly for years.

When a big game was approaching and the opposition had a reputation for physical football, their manager would appear in the press and gently remind officials that certain players needed protection.

It was not subtle. But it was effective and the media rarely criticised it.

If Celtic tried the same thing, the reaction would be completely different.

The media would explode. They would accuse the club of trying to influence referees. The headlines would be immediate and furious. Celtic would be accused of applying pressure and attempting to manipulate officials, all for asking that our players receive a little protection.

And the truth is that Celtic face roughhouse tactics almost every week.

Opponents know the difference in technical quality. They know the way to disrupt Celtic is not always through football but through physical confrontation.

Think about the Aberdeen side we faced in the run up to the Scottish Cup Final.

Before that final we played them in the league. They kicked us off the pitch that day knowing exactly what was coming. They had nothing to lose and nothing to fear. Their focus was clearly on disrupting us.

That match cost us Reo Hatate for the final.

Now I am not saying Reo would automatically have won that game for us. Football does not work that way. But Hatate has been so crucial to our team at times that his absence was felt heavily that day. There is no doubt about it.

And this is where the current title race makes the issue even more serious.

Imagine the scenario.

The league is still balanced on a knife edge. Celtic host the club from Ibrox at Celtic Park. Celtic win that match and effectively end their championship hopes. Hearts remain in the race, and we play them shortly afterwards.

What is to stop the Ibrox side deciding to engage in similar roughhouse tactics during that game? What is to stop them trying to take a few Celtic players out of the Hearts match that follows?

Does that sound far fetched? It is not far fetched at all.

The stakes are enormous.

Or imagine the reverse scenario. Imagine we play Hearts first. Imagine they know the league is still wide open and that the Ibrox club still has a chance to catch us. What is to stop Hearts deciding to kick us off the park and hope that a weakened Celtic side then drops points in the next match?

Yes, that might sound like a desperate strategy. After all, the club from Ibrox has already had two chances this month to beat increasingly disrupted Celtic sides on their own ground and failed both times.

But desperation changes calculations.

When the stakes are this high, clubs will use every advantage available to them.

And that includes physical intimidation.

The possibility of this strategy is obvious. It is logical. It would clearly serve the interests of the teams involved.

Which makes you wonder why Celtic are not talking about it.

Not loudly. Not dramatically. But subtly.

Because raising the issue is not over the top. It is simply acknowledging the reality of the situation. The title race is reaching its decisive phase and Celtic are the team that other sides will be looking to disrupt.

For once it would be reassuring to believe that the club is thinking about this.

That Celtic understands how high the stakes are and what might happen over the next few weeks.

Because if we allow something like that to unfold under certain referees we all know by name, referees who have shown again and again that they are capable of letting games descend into chaos, then it would represent a level of self inflicted damage that borders on suicidal stupidity.

Nobody is saying Celtic needs to bang the drum about this every day.

But if Martin O’Neill casually mentioned it in a press conference, perhaps before or after a match, the message would be clear. Officials have to be stronger when dealing with the type of challenges Celtic players regularly face.

Highlight a few injuries we have suffered this season. Talk about the need for fairness. That alone would be enough.

Celtic does not have to make demands. Celtic does not have to throw its weight around. The club simply has to make one thing clear.

We see what is happening. We are aware of the possibility, and we expect the officials to treat us fairly.

Because fairness is all we are asking for.

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