GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - APRIL 11: Celtic's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (R) celebrates scoring to make it 1-0 with Hyunjun Yang during a William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and St Mirren at Celtic Park, on April 11, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Yesterday was not great football wise. But days like yesterday, Celtic remind me exactly why I fell in love with this club in the first place.
I am not here to dissect every pass or analyse every phase of play against St Mirren.
That is not what this is about. This is about feeling. About belief. This is about that stubborn, defiant part of me that refuses, absolutely refuses, to let go of what Celtic still can be this season. Because let’s be honest, people have written us off.
For weeks now, the critics, the doubters and the ex-players with their predictions already carved in stone have been circling. I have heard it all. I wrote about it yesterday. Celtic will not win the title. They have lost it. The edge is gone.
I will not pretend it has not stung, because it has. It always does when people so easily dismiss what this club is capable of. But yesterday felt like a response. Not a perfect one. Not a polished, dominant, unstoppable statement.
No, this was something far more important. This was, again, about resilience. It was refusal.
This was Celtic digging in and saying, not yet.
So, does this victory mean the title race continues? For me, absolutely. How could it not? As long as there are points to play for, as long as there is even the slightest crack of light left, then the race is alive. Football is not played on predictions or pundit panels. It is played on grass, in moments, in pressure and in belief.
Yesterday proved that Celtic are still very much part of that equation. The gap has not magically disappeared. The doubts have not evaporated overnight. But something shifted, and I felt it. Because winning when everything is comfortable is one thing. Winning when the noise is loud, when the pressure is heavy, when people expect you to stumble, and when you aren’t playing well; that is something else entirely.
That is character. I saw enough of it yesterday to believe that this story is not finished. This team has character. Others might not think it is enough, and maybe it won’t be. But character has won titles before. It might do it again.
Will Celtic still win the title? That is the question everyone keeps asking, almost as if they are waiting for permission to believe again. I will answer it honestly. I do not know. No one does. That is the truth of it. But what I do know is this: they can.
Not they should. Not they will. But they can. In football, that is still important. And as long as we can there is hope.
Titles are not always won by the best team on paper. They are won by the team that holds its nerve, that finds something when it looks like there is nothing left, that keeps going when others assume the story is already over.
We have seen Celtic do it before. Time and time again.
This club has built its identity on defiance. On proving people wrong. On rising when it is least expected. That is what makes days like yesterday feel so important, not because of the scoreline, but because of what it represents.
It represents a heartbeat. It represents a pulse that is still there, still fighting, still refusing to fade away quietly. Maybe, just maybe, that is what this run-in needs.
Let’s not pretend everything is perfect, because it is not. The performance wasn’t brilliant. It wasn’t even particularly good in parts. But we keep winning. O’Neill’s record since returning is pretty good and he just keeps on getting us results.
There have been moments this season that have frustrated me, performances that have left me questioning, and decisions that have made me shake my head. I have felt the doubt creeping in at times. I will not lie about that.
But supporting Celtic was never about certainty. It was never about everything going smoothly. It is about standing there in the chaos, in the uncertainty, and choosing to believe anyway. Yesterday, I felt that belief. Not fully. Not completely. But enough.
Enough to remind me that writing this team off is a mistake. Enough to remind me that football has a way of turning when you least expect it. Good enough to remind me that the story is still being written.
And what about the critics? Honestly, I do not want them to go quiet. I do not want them to change their minds now. Let them keep talking and doubting. Let them keep predicting our downfall. Because if Celtic do pull this off, if they somehow claw their way back, if they keep winning, if they push this all the way and come out on top, then it will mean more.
So much more. It will not just be a title. It will be a statement. A reminder. A moment where every dismissive comment, every confident prediction, every they’re done gets thrown right back in their faces. I want that.
I want that feeling of proving them all wrong. To have that surge of pride, that defiance, that sense of you should have known better. Because you should never write off Celtic. Not this club. Not this support. You should never write off their will to make history.
Yesterday was a stubborn, gritty, emotional continuation of a title race where this club just refuses to lie down. As I sit here thinking about it, I realise something. I am not ready to let go of this season. I am not ready to accept that it is over.
Neither is the manager. Neither is his team.
So yes, the title race continues. For me, for the players and for every single one of us who still believes. Yes, Celtic can still win it. And yes, if they do, if they carry this forward, if they turn this moment into momentum, then they will have proven every single critic wrong. I will be there, in Glasgow, as the team plays the last two games, feeling every second of it, knowing that I never stopped believing when it mattered most.
Yesterday was not about perfection. It was about belief.
Watching Celtic get the win over St Mirren, I felt again, that stubborn refusal to give up on this season. People can say what they want, write us off and predict the end, but I am not having it. As long as Celtic keep fighting, I will keep believing. The title race is not done, not for me. If we somehow pull this off, it will mean everything because we proved them all wrong.
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That was dire, 3 points yes but dire. We have nobody up front that scores, you don’t win leagues without it. This is the worst team we have had in a long time given to us by the suits. This was done on purpose to help their “old firm” cohorts. F#ck the lot of them, MON deserves a medal for having us in with a chance. Hearts will win it
It’s not only the critics who are writing us off, many Celtic fans are doing the same. I don’t know if I was watching the same game as you because I didn’t see a team of character, I saw a team who scored a goal and then sat back for the rest of the game, resorting to the usual boring side and back passing! Having been a supporter for more than 60 odd years, this is NOT a Celtic team! The Celtic teams that I remember would FIGHT for every ball and wouldn’t give up, but this lot are stealing a wage as far as I’m concerned, they’re being paid thousands a week and not earning it! Okay, 3 points are 3 points, but the game was as slow as treacle and dire to watch. If we by chance happen to win this league, it will be because of how bad our opponents were and not how good we were. How far Celtic have fallen in such a short time and, although the Board is culpable in this regard, the players also have to accept their share of responsibility for this debacle.
‘A moment where every dismissive comment, every confident prediction, every they’re done gets thrown right back in their faces. I want that.’
The people who think we don’t possess the requisite quality to win this league are mostly our own fans, Celtic supporters. But you want it “thrown right back in their faces”, if we win the league?
That’s a bit harsh on your fellow Celtic fans there PJ ,for the major crime of having a different assessment of our chances to yours.
Looking objectively at our current circumstances and form forces many of us to the unfortunate conclusion that we don’t have what it takes to sustain a winning run over our competitors. That isn’t disloyalty to Celtic or a “dismissive comment” or waving a white flag. Its an objective analysis of this current team and it’s glaring shortcomings.
It’s our head not our heart talking. Our heart -like yours- is desperately hoping we fight like all hell let loose to retain OUR title and miraculously manage to do it. It would be amazing if we could and my heart will always believe until it’s mathematically impossible. But excuse me if my head is struggling with what my eyes are witnessing game after game.
I do love your passion and fight for the cause though as well as your never say die optimism which shines through in your articles PJ. It’s inspiring and gives me food for thought so please keep it up and give an old cynical codger like me some hope.
If MON’s unhappy about the lack of energy of his players, then why does he persist with starting CalMac in every match?
I worked offshore where everyone worked an 84hr week. Scaffolders for instance, would have fallen off their precarious footings if they’d let tiredness get to them near the end of their shifts.
Did Dundee United not win the league title using only 14 or 15 players? They were also having long runs in Europe and the domestic cups at that time. Celtic weren’t that different in the season they won every competition they entered. Scottish League, Cup, League Cup, Glasgow Cup, Reserve League, 5-a-sides Cup and even BBC quizball! I don’t remember anyone complaining about playing too many games. Laziness is the problem.
I somehow forgot to include the European Cup!
The problem we have is we dont have a single decent striker and we cant score. And that is totally down to the board.
We all laughed at the huns forward recruitment when none of them could score their arse but now they are finding the net
We struggled to beat the 10th placed team and they smashed one of the top 6..the omens are not good and im fearful we will get our arses handed to us when the nasties come calling in a few weeks. I hope im wrong..
John A @ 8.31am…
I hope that you are correct in your prediction as I don’t see us doing it…
Anything other than your prediction will have dire dire fuckin consequences !
we have international players all over the pitch, and on the bench, who seem to have lost the ability to do the absolute basics. I can’t recall any sort of committed tackle until Engels came on the park. We made 600 passes and 164 of them went forward, at home, against St Mirren.
Every time we get the ball up the pitch quickly and get teams turned we turn back and play the ball backwards and sideways, allowing the team to re-set and get everyone in position to watch us pass the ball back around until we inevitably give up possession or give a way a cheap free kick.
I would like to know what is going on with the coaches because we look like the most un-coached team in the league. That boy has been caretaker of St Mirren for a fortnight and they passed us off the pitch and walked through us at will on Saturday. Nancy was a disaster but we created plenty of chances under him. We are absolutely appalling to watch and, on current form, both Hearts and Rangers* leave Celtic Park with 3 points.