Every cloud: Tony Mowbray must put a lid on Celtic's off-field gripes and concentrate on finding a silver lining. Pic: ©STV
Last week’s defeat at Ibrox extinguished any small flicker of hope that Celtic fans had of seeing their side win the Scottish Premier League this year. Rangers are now 10 points clear with a game in hand, making our remaining league games seem nothing more than pre-season friendlies.
Mowbray’s regime at Celtic has given supporters very little to shout about. No Champions League football, some horrific results in the Europa League, elimination from the Co-operative Insurance Cup, uncertainty over who he wants in his starting XI and not so much as a victory against our fiercest rivals. But to my mind, the most disheartening thing about the season so far has been the club’s embarrassing accusations against referees in this country of being sub-standard and having an agenda against the club.
Throughout the course of any football season, any team will be on the receiving end of last minute goals, player suspensions, injuries, transfer embargoes and what could be perceived by some as “dodgy” refereeing decisions.
Yet all too often recently we’ve had to put up with a war instigated by those inside Celtic Park against refereeing decisions. The debate will rage on forever about the standard of refereeing in Scotland but Mowbray’s men have but one question to ask themselves: has poor refereeing resulted in Celtic dropping points on 12 separate occasions so far during this league campaign?
Of course, Scott Brown’s sending off was debatable, there was nothing wrong with Fortune’s goal in January against Rangers and we’ve maybe even been subjected to a few over-eager linesmen. But what about all the matches where there was no controversy?
I was going to name the sides that we’ve dropped points against but I’d be quicker naming those we haven’t dropped points against. St Johnstone, St Mirren and Hamilton are the only sides that Celtic have a 100% record against in the SPL this year. This shocking fact is why Celtic find themselves so far off the pace that the focus is already on next year’s campaign.
Celtic’s biggest enemy this season has been a lack of motivation, hunger and belief. At no point this season have the Bhoys hit a run of form in the league, so much so that the most number of league games we’ve managed to win in a row is a pathetic three matches.
If you look at the squad on paper, it’s not a million miles away from what should be a championship winning side. Artur Boruc, Aiden McGeady and Robbie Keane are world class in their respective positions. The squad also boasts a healthy collection of players on their way up with something to prove and perhaps greater things to come.
Players like Landry N’Guemo and Morten Rasmussen have raw talent which is yet to be harnessed to its full potential. The world class players can be the difference in the big games and the raw talent should be the lifeblood of the team but poor Tony hasn’t quite worked that out yet.
On paper, Celtic should be able to beat 90% of the teams in the SPL, 90% of the time. What’s stopping this isn’t the players’ belief in themselves as individuals but the players’ belief in themselves as a team. This lack of faith is what has caused Celtic to ship more than a goal a game in the SPL and scoring just one or two, when a rampant Celtic would score four or five or, at the very least, keep a clean sheet at the back.
The disappointing start to the Mowbray regime doesn’t have to continue but it’s becoming clear to see that all the moaning about referees is doing nothing to help the cause. Maybe there are referees with an agenda and maybe there are referees who aren’t good enough to be working in the SPL. But running to the tabloids with a petted lip will do nothing to improve the team’s fortunes on the park.
It’s time for Tony to ditch the tabloid tittle tattle and install a belief that only the best will do for Celtic. We can win every game from now until the end of the season, it’s just a case of dropping the grievances off the pitch and making the players believe in themselves on it.
Tony Mowbray keeps reminding the fans that he’s started a long term project at Celtic but, after nine months in the job, the foundations of a successful football team still don’t appear to be laid. The Scottish league perhaps isn’t the most attractive league in the world but the manager must first of all get his players into the way of thinking that they should be honoured to play for such a prestigious club. Every weekend they have the chance to make themselves into heroes and legends in the eyes of the fans by how they perform on the park.
Every man within the walls at Lennoxtown and Celtic Park must switch their focus from moaning about supposed referee bias to concentrating on forming a team spirit and winning games with a bit of panache. The challenge facing Mowbray and his squad is turning those 10 remaining meaningless league games into something significant after all. Quite simply, Celtic need to form an impenetrable team spirit and find some cohesion – and these games present the perfect chance to do it.
The SPL trophy may well be heading to Ibrox but, depending on how the 11 men in the green and white perform out on the park between now and the end of the season, Tony Mowbray has a chance of starting next season afresh with a team that the fans believe in. If he continues with the status quo, it will instead be someone else picking up the scattered blocks and trying again from square one.
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