Absence makes Mulgrew's heart grow fonder

Sports writer

Tuesday 12 March 2013

The diplomatic answer might have been to say that it was for others to decide, but Charlie Mulgrew's instinct was to be honest.

Charlie Mulgrew scores against Rangers. The thrill of the Old Firm contest is something the Celtic player has missed this term.

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Richard Wilson

The competitor in him would not settle for a sleight of foot response. When asked if he would restore Rangers to the top flight, Mulgrew was assured enough to speak his mind. "If it was my choice? Probably, yes," he said.

There is no mechanism to return the Ibrox side to the Scottish Premier League, or to the leading division of the proposed new Scottish Professional Football League. Some SPL clubs admit it would allow them greater financial security, but the likelihood is that they will have to cut their budgets accordingly. Rangers themselves would acknowledge that there is a commercial advantage to them moving up the divisions, but no competitive gain while the registration embargo is still in place. Supporters, too, have no desire to be fast-tracked.Until league reconstruction plans are implemented, there will always be an element of speculation. Like most professionals, Mulgrew could look beyond the politicking to reflect on the dynamic of the Old Firm rivalry and how intense the fixtures are. They are occasions to relish, so naturally his reaction was to seek their return. He might have irked some Celtic fans; even their disdain for Rangers is part of the Old Firm rivalry. Mulgrew later tweeted that he meant the league is more exciting with Rangers in, and not that he thinks they should be fast-tracked back, but the point remained the same.In many ways it was relevant, too. There were several factors in Celtic's 3-2 defeat to Ross County at the weekend, but it is undeniable that the response to the loss was diminished by the 15-point lead Neil Lennon's side hold over Motherwell in second place. The competitive dynamic of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League is reduced by Rangers' absence, since there is, effectively, no title race."Maybe," Mulgrew said when asked if the lead in the league was partly responsible for the defeat. "But at Celtic, the fans demand you win and give 100% in every match. We didn't do that against Ross County and we are disappointed. I don't think people's heads are elsewhere. It was just a bad result and bad performance. We flew back from Italy and then were pretty much straight up to Dingwall. I'm not making excuses. Players are tired and there have been a lot of games played this year but that's not an excuse. We need to do better."Maybe in the back of your mind, [there was complacency once Celtic established a two-goal advantage]. But there were tough conditions, the pitch wasn't great and we knew Ross County would be up for it on their good run. It was up to us to match their enthusiasm. We should have done that at 2-0 and stayed in the lead, but we didn't. That's what's disappointing. On Saturday, it's up to the players to stand up and be counted and realise that the fans want you to win every match. That's what is expected. We need to approach it with the right attitude and get the win."Mulgrew was not seeking excuses, and dismissed the notion that the team would have been affected by playing in Turin, on a perfect surface against Juventus in the Champions League, and then facing Ross County on a more rugged pitch. Instead, the credit ought to have been more readily offered to Ross County for finding the means to overcome the deficit. Mulgrew was speaking yesterday at the launch of the Cheque Centre Professional Footballers Association Scotland player of the year awards, as the winner of last year's prize. His own candidates for this year centred on his team-mates at Celtic Park, but there are a number of potential winners throughout the Premier League. "It's still early in the season and there are a lot of important matches still to be played," Mulgrew said. "But Kelvin Wilson has been consistent for us this season, Fraser Forster and big Victor Wanyama, too. It would be those three for us. Elsewhere, Niall McGinn has scored a lot of goals for Aberdeen and Leigh Griffiths has been another stand-out."

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Absence makes Mulgrew's heart grow fonder

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