Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers will remain laser-focused as his side turn their attention to the run-in following yesterday’s draw at Ibrox.
The Irishman fielded a line-up that helped forge a spectacle in difficult conditions, and he will feel hard done by that they never walked away with three points following the efforts of Daizen Maeda, Matt O’Riley and Adam Idah.
Assessing the Bhoys’ performance, Rodgers praised his men for keeping their title destiny afloat, stating: “We’re disappointed not to win, but to leave here with it all in our hands is what we wanted – for that, I’m really proud.”
In three Glasgow Derby meetings, Celtic have taken two seven points from a possible nine and now will look forward to the return fixture at Parkhead in the post-split schedule.
Nevertheless, St Mirren travel to Glasgow on Saturday afternoon before dates are pencilled in beyond that, which has to be the Hoops’ only focus ahead of five matches that will have major implications for our hopes of claiming Scottish Premiership crown.
Mark Wilson on Celtic’s chaotic stalemate at Ibrox
Former Celtic man Mark Wilson has played in his fair share of Glasgow Derby matches and participated in several nail-biting title races throughout his career.
Despite the fact his old side couldn’t pick up three points yesterday, the 39-year-old says he would rather be in the Hoops’ position heading into the run-in and also believes that Rangers manager Clement finds himself in a complicated situation, as he has yet to deliver a victory over Rodgers in two attempts.
Wilson stated [Sky Sports]: “I’d rather be in Celtic’s (position) at the minute, knowing that Rangers have to come here and get a result and seeing how those games have went so far this season.
“Brendan Rodgers has been an incredibly difficult manager to beat for Rangers managers, and he’s had a fair few of them in his time.
“Philippe Clement, Rangers supporters like him and think he’s the real deal. He looks the real deal, but he’s had two cracks at Rodgers and failed to beat him. Yesterday was a big opportunity, so to come here and beat him is a tall order. I don’t think Rangers’ game against Dundee is a gimme either. With the way the pitch is, that’s going to be tough.”
He later added: “If it was me, I’d rather be sitting in Celtic’s position knowing I’ve got a home game against Rangers.”
Celtic have put themselves in a strong league position
As we expect in the aftermath of these games, when they end up in a draw, both sets of fans will argue the toss about who had the better of the play or deserved to win.
This can also transpire at managerial level, as evidenced by Clement’s comments that Rangers were the ‘moral winners’ on the day despite failing to see off Celtic on home soil.
Either way, the Bhoys have put themselves in a strong league position, which could’ve been even better had we held on to our lead in the game.
Nevertheless, there is also a bigger picture at play, and Celtic are still firmly in the title race, knowing that six league wins will be enough to claim glory in May.