It All Comes Down to This…

By: Matt | May 21st, 2008

So this is it. Eight months of ups and downs, happiness and heart break, wins losses and draws will all come to a thrilling climax tomorrow, 2:45 Eastern Standard Time. In order to win the league, Celtic have to match the result of Rangers and do no more than 4 goals worse than Rangers. If Celtic win by one goal, Rangers would have to win by at least 5. Add 4 to the Celtic victory differential tomorrow and that is what Rangers must do. This is clearly a tall order for the struggling (well against anyone except the already in the south of Spain St. Mirren) Rangers offense, so their only hope is for the Bhoys to drop points. Both Celtic and Rangers face tough tests on the road, with Celtic traveling to Dundee to play United and Rangers up in Aberdeen to play the Dons (first time I’ve referred to them as that? Got to show them respect and hope they beat the Huns! ) So for the first time in a long, long, long time, Celtic’s league fate is in their own hands. Win in Dundee and it is three in a row.

The Bhoys of Celtic will be coming off an emotional week after losing coach, Celtic legend, and friend to all in the green and white Tommy Burns. Often times, in times of tragedy, football can be a release for players and fans, helping deal with the grief. The only problem is Celtic sat at home this weekend waiting for Rangers to catch up in games played. Captain Stephen McManus said it was “the toughest week in his career at Celtic”. To say that the Bhoys will be motivated coming into the game would be an understatement, but Celtic need to be careful and control their emotions. It is all fine and good coming out psyched and going a million miles per hour but that could lead to sloppy play and mistakes. Celtic must use this motivation, but can’t rely solely on it. Still, the rallying cry “Win it for Tommy!” is nice…

In terms of squads for tomorrow’s match, the only Celtic player questionable is Andres Hinkel, who missed the 2-0 victory over Hibernian. Dundee, perhaps also thinking about the summer villa they might be sharing with St Mirren players, will be missing Lee Wilkie because he is one yellow card away from a three game suspension and Dundee, with pretty much nothing to play for besides “pride”, do not want him missing the beginning of next season because of suspension. This is in contrary to reports that Malkie and teammate Mihael Kovacevic were in a training scrap and Malkie will miss the match because of that. Dundee have confirmed that there was a scrap but Malkie will be missing tomorrow’s match for yellow card reasons. Either way, a captain not playing and tensions in the United dressing room sound tasty to this Celtic supporter!

Dundee United and Aberdeen, Celtic and Rangers’ opponents tomorrow, are certainly wild cards in this crazy league finish. On one hand, both teams are in the top 6 of the SPL and are tough places to travel to. Yet, neither team really have anything to play for. Motherwell have already locked the third spot in the SPL. As St Mirren showed on Tuesday, a disinterested team during a meaningless game for them can prove to be easy opponents. However, if there is one team in the SPL that dislike Rangers as much as Celtic does, it could be Aberdeen. Players will be playing for spots on the team and for perhaps a lucrative transfer to a bigger team *cough Zander Diamond cough*. A win over Rangers would create great momentum for Jimmy Calderwood and staff, and perhaps bring a bigger transfer budget for the summer. What type of performance Dundee and Aberdeen bring on Thursday will be a major factor.

Yet, it is truly up to Celtic. It is in the Bhoys hands, and their’s alone. They control their destiny. They have the motivation. They have the talent. Robson and Hartley have dominated the middle of the park. Naka is back on his scoring track. Big Jan and Skippy McDonald (no reminders about a last day of the league with him in Motherwell Orange, tomorrow would be a great time to make amends) have their nose for the goal again. We can do it.

If anyone needs anymore motivation, Al Pacino is here for you…HOO-HA!
Celtic Passion
(Al, what are you doing tomorrow around 245 eastern? Care to give a speech?)

KEEP THE FAITH!