FROM Virgil van Dijk's perspective, at least one good thing came out of the recent evaporation of Celtic's treble aspirations.
By the time Falkirk and Inverness Caledonian Thistle step out at Hampden for the William Hill Scottish Cup final on May 30, the league campaign will have been concluded for six days, giving van Dijk and his team-mates an early start to their summer holidays. Unsurprisingly, wherever the Dutchman happens to be at that point - presumably on a beach somewhere exotic - it is not in his current plans to seek out the nearest Irish bar, ask them to stick on Sky Sports 3 HD, and see which of the two sides ends up lifting the trophy that van Dijk had hoped would be the final part of a successful domestic clean sweep for Celtic.
"I go on holiday [after the season] so I don't think I will see it," he said almost diplomatically. "After this season I don't want to watch any football. I've been the whole year watching and playing football and I have to be mentally rested for next season. So I don't think I will watch it."
The contentious manner of Celtic's exit from the competition at the semi-final stage - Josh Meekings will forever now be synonymous with the penalty that wasn't given - clearly still weighs heavily on van Dijk's shoulders. Not even the subsequent league win over Dundee, another stunning free kick goal to add to his collection, or even his nomination for the Cheque Centre PFA Scotland Premiership player of the year award, could apparently rouse the 23 year-old from the pits of despair. His manager Ronny Deila had admitted he spent the two days after the cup defeat "staring at a wall" and van Dijk was just as downbeat, looking for all the world like a man who had scooped the jackpot on the lottery then put the winning ticket through the wash.
"Everybody was very down, especially after the game," he added. "Personally I was devastated, especially during the night. I didn't sleep that well. That was the biggest chance to get the treble and everyone at Celtic, and I think around Celtic as well, had the feeling that it was going to happen. If the right decision had been made in the game on Sunday we would have been in the final and would hopefully have won the final. The treble was very close but it's not going to be turned around any more. We need to put all our energy now into winning the league as soon as possible."
With Celtic guarding an eight-point advantage with just five games left, it seems only a matter of when they win the title rather than if. Even completing a domestic double, however, won't help shake the feeling that it could and perhaps should have been more.
"Maybe [if we win two trophies] we will still feel frustrated in the summer because it was a big opportunity this year to get the treble. If you don't get it this year [we will think about that decision]. Even if [Meekings] got a red card and we missed the penalty we still had a bigger chance to go through. Yeah, you're going to be disappointed when you think back on it. But we can do nothing about it and we have to take all the energy and frustration we have into winning games so we are the champions."
Earlier in the season, van Dijk had been vehement in his criticism of Ivan Kruzliak, the Slovakian referee who sent him off in Celtic's Europa League tie versus Internazionale. He was careful not to tar referee Steven McLean with the same brush, but revealed the anguish this time even outweighed that night in the San Siro.
"The Inter Milan game, of course, was terrible for my feelings. The decision on Sunday wasn't right and everyone can see it. It's terrible when you think about it. This one was harder on my feelings. I put the ref in a position in Milan to give me a red card and that's what I have to learn from. Sunday's was a clear decision and it wasn't made and that's a worse feeling. Even in the stands you could see it. It was a miracle that we didn't get the right decision."
Where van Dijk ends up once he has come back off the beach remains to be seen. The defender has another two years left on his contract but the feeling lingers of a player who senses the time is right for a fresh challenge. The dilemma he will wrestle with this summer is whether it is better to be with a big club in a small league or a small club in a bigger league.
"We'll see what happens in the summer but for now I'm a Celtic player and we'll see if that is or isn't the case after the summer," he added. "It's an amazing club and you don't want to leave a club like this for one that is not as big. You need to know what you want - you don't need to lie. You have to be straight. I will be straight with everyone. If Celtic was playing in the Premier league then they would be one of the best clubs in the world and to stay here would be much more interesting than anything else."
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