THERE are many Celtic supporters who declare that one of their favourite seasons following their team came in the 1995/96 campaign.
To recap, they won absolutely nothing, Rangers won a Double, including their eighth title in a row, they didn’t make a cup final and as for Europe, a half built Parkhead watched through fingers Paris St Germain win 3-0 on a night when the French seemed to be playing a different game altogether.
However, Tommy Burns sent his team out to attack, attack and then attack again. They were wonderful to watch, scored some great goals and while there were no trophies to celebrate, the punters were well entertained.
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Imagine how good it would have been for Celtic had the actually managed to win something. They might not have to imagine for much longer.
Brendan Rodgers has Celtic playing the style of football which so thrilled the crowds 20 years ago. The current manager was, of course, close to Burns and the much-missed great man would surely have approved at what his old protégé is trying to do.
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It is hard to imagine them not scoring against Hapoel Be’er Sheva on Tuesday night. It’s difficult to see them not scoring against anyone. Equally, they are conceding too many, St Johnstone should never been allowed to make 3-0 into 3-2. It is not a huge concern, but neither is it something that can be ignored.
However, watching Celtic right now, and of course it is extremely early days, is a joy and, really, they should win the league by a distance. If Tuesday night can be dealt with, as it should, then this will be a campaign of trophies, European joy and some great football. You can’t ask for much more than that.
Martin O’Neill’s teams played far better football than some suggested. His mantra was win, win, win and his side’s were almost always able to see out matches, not allowing the opposition a sniff. This side could do with some of that.
On Saturday, Celtic were brilliant in the first half but then, and it was understandable, slowed down after the break which allowed St Johnstone to give themselves a small chance of a point. Rodgers clearly does not want his team to see out games, rather their remit is to get forward all the time.
That is fine in Perth but if Celtic get to the Champions League they can’t be as cavalier.
One of those players who has responded to Rodgers is the elegant Tom Rogic who produced some stunning football at the weekend. He has thoroughly enjoyed the start to the season in terms of his own performances and that of the team.
“I’m not sure why it’s clicked so quickly,” said the Australian. “We’ve all worked really hard since the first day of pre-season. I guess his methods and what he is trying to put across is happening. We still have a lot of things to work on but it is looking very positive to start with.
“As a team, everyone is looking exciting and positive. As a collective, we look dangerous and threatening. It’s early, so we can’t get carried away.
“I’m feeling good and the manager has given me a lot of confidence. I’m enjoying my role there. We have a good squad and a number of players who can play multiple positions. Hopefully it keeps going and we keep winning.”
The biggest win will hopefully come for Celtic in Israel. The league and at least one domestic cup is required and yet a decent Champions League campaign, if they get there, is of equal importance.
“We believe in ourselves,” said Rodgers. “Within our squad we have a number of players who can score goals. No matter who the opponent is, we fancy ourselves to score. Tuesday is no different and we look forward to it.
“We have a lot of pace in the team, in particular with Scott Sinclair and James Forrest. They give us a lot of attacking threat and quality out wide. With quality like that, you are going to hurt any team. You saw on Saturday how good they were.
“We are quite flexible in our tactics and the way we set up. We will just wait and see on Tuesday. With the quality we have, we are flexible in being able to change to any number of systems. That’s a good asset.
“We have got things to work on. It’s something we need to fix. Once we fix these small errors, we will become even better. We got more goals and responded well in our last two games. I guess that shows the resilience and character of the team. As long as we do that, we will be fine.”
As for the game, Leigh Griffiths may have been daft to go looking for a penalty which earned him a booking but he got his sixth goal of the season, sweeping the ball home after tremendous work by the excellent Kieran Tierney.
Scott Sinclair got the second, his third for Celtic, after good work by the rejuvenated James Forrest who then got a third before half-time courtesy of a fine run and finish, something he used to do all the time.
St Johnstone got back in it thanks to a penalty by Danny Swanson and then Steven MacLean bundled the ball home with minutes remaining, before substitute Ryan Christie got his side’s fourth and the win was sealed.
And now onto Israel and most likely the Champions League; all done with something of a swagger.
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