Sunday at Hampden brought the return of that sweet Glasgow derby winning feeling again.
It had been too long.
Our rivals turned up full of swagger of course, on the back of a win over crisis club Kilmarnock.
Followed up by an away win over the only SPFL team that Russell Martin managed to beat at Ibrox, Hibernian.
Nothing learned from the numerous false dawns and rebirths that have ultimately broken their hearts over the past 13 years. The Rangers Internationale Football Club Limited turned up at Hampden brimming with confidence.
Well their fans did, their players looked scared.
FREEDOM RESTORED
On the pitch Celtic set about them with a confidence and freedom rarely displayed this season. Against them the multi million pound boys in Blue wilted before our eyes.
Celtic’s back four and midfield consisted of tried and tested winners, but the forward line was a concern.
The rarely seen Johnny Kenny up front, flanked by want-away Daizen Maeda on the right and Sebastian Tonekti on the left.
But, playing with a new found confidence, they tore the Govan side apart and should’ve been out of sight by half-time.
Had we had the sort of forward line we have been accustomed to over the past four seasons, Celtic could’ve ran up a cricket score.
As it was the Ibrox side managed to claw a goal back and take the game into extra time.
NERVES
Mostly as a result of poor finishing from Celtic and a bizarre refereeing performance from the Deputy Head of The Rangers Academy High School, Nick Walsh.
There were some nerves for sure in the Celtic End at Hampden as extra time got underway.
As it turned out this much criticised Celtic team had more than enough in the tank to burst the blue balloon, again.
Callum McGregor led the way for an extra time stroll in the park. It ended when Callum Osmand sealed the deal with the third.
That Celtic have struggled to beat this rag tag mob put together by three or four failed managers speaks volumes.
Something has been very, very wrong in our dressing room since at least February this year.
With Rodgers gone it is becoming increasingly common for the finger to be pointed solely at him. His fault for the downturn that set in after the Bayern Munich tie.
But ultimately it is the board and club executives that are responsible for whatever went wrong.
Rodgers was Dermot Desmond’s man, he convinced him to return for a second spell.
And Michael Nicholson was tasked with bringing the players in to give Rodgers a squad that could compete.
It is clear now that Rodgers relationship with the board had broken down and the team has been lifted by his departure.
It should never have got to this stage. The manager’s position should have been sorted out in the summer and the first team squad bolstered.
NEGATIVITY
Had Rodgers become so despondent that he became a negative influence on the players, you have to ask why this happened.
In his first spell in charge Rodgers put together a fantastic team, our Invincibles. Mainly built from developing and reinvigorating the players he inherited.
Unable to build on that initial success, the team began to toil and it appeared Rodgers wasn’t able to inspire them. The John McGinn scenario hung heavy in the air. Terminado became a phrase.
Sounds very familiar.
I am sure Brendan Rodgers did not return for his second stint on the basis that the first team squad would be weakened, again, and he would feel the need to leave early.
Rodgers leaves after delivering two doubles in two seasons despite the board, not because of them. And a 10 match Champions League campaign that will be hard to match never mind surpass looking forward.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Now we are left to cross our fingers and hope that Desmond, a wealthy Irish shareholder who holds no official position at our club, picks the right manager.
CEO Nicholson will not be involved in the process. Meanwhile the search continues for his job description and any targets he may have been set to justify his obscene salary.
This is no way to run our football club. The one that has previously appointed a manager in the Hampden showers.
We need proper leadership and accountability.
No matter how much everyone has been lifted by the arrival of Martin O’Neill, the need for change at our club is as urgent as ever.
RELATED READING
