CHRIS Sutton has raised questions about the level of concern surrounding Celtic’s recent string of results, as the team failed to secure a win in their last three matches, conceding a total of nine goals in the process.
The Celtic legend believes these matches have been rendered inconsequential since the team clinched the league title against Hearts in the first game of the split. However, there are many Celtic fans who hold a different viewpoint, seeing these games as an opportunity to surpass the Invincibles’ points record, which now seems unattainable as the Hoops are unlikely to surpass the 100-point mark.
The once substantial lead in the league has now dwindled to a mere seven points, and it could have been even narrower had it not been for Hearts’ 94th-minute equaliser in the midweek fixture. Simply glancing at the league table fails to capture the true extent of the players’ efforts throughout the season.
In his column for the Daily Record, Sutton offers his perspective that Ange Postecoglou should question why there is such concern over these recent results. He argues that these matches will have no bearing on the upcoming season and, if anything, they might be giving false hope to our Glasgow rivals.
He wrote: [Daily Record]
“I’m not surprised Ange Postecoglou has seemed a little bit bemused after the last few games.
“The Celtic manager must be a perplexed about the narrative around these dead rubbers. His side have lost a few games but you’d think they’d chucked the league with some of the reaction. Postecoglou must be tempted to shrug and say, ‘who gives a f***, mate?’
“Seriously. These games are absolutely meaningless – there has been nothing on the line. Celtic haven’t won them, but, honestly, it’s a total waste of time trying to analyse them. Does Postecoglou need to win the Playing For Pride Trophy as well? The way some folk are going on, Rangers are flying and Celtic are struggling. Some are trying to frame it like it will have some sort of bearing on next season. That’s frankly ridiculous. Have they casually forgotten the last nine months? The objective at the start of the season was to win the league. Celtic managed it with room to spare.
“They have delivered in every single big game domestically and now they’ve lost a bit of edge people are making assumptions about August. It’s nonsense. Rangers might take a bit of confidence from their last few results, but this is a team that couldn’t do it when it really mattered.
“It the three crunch derby games, they came second best each time and folded under the pressure. Now the heat is off, they are world beaters again. As for Celtic, they smashed through the finishing line, are they expected to keep sprinting?
“Trust me here, I’ve been in this situation. When we won the title by a mile in 2001 under Martin O’Neill we lost to Dundee and Kilmarnock in the last two games.
“A couple of years later we were out of sight in the league again but dropped points to Dunfermline and Motherwell. At least, so I’ve been told – because I honestly can’t remember the games. I’m sure Celtic fans don’t either.”
While Sutton highlights the lack of significance in these matches, it is important to acknowledge that some fans still value the opportunity to achieve records and maintain a strong finish to the season. The concern arises from a desire to see Celtic continue performing at their best and uphold the club’s winning mentality.
