Celtic positively roared into the World Cup break. It’s crucial for Ange Postecoglou and his team to ensure they come screaming back out the traps at full pelt today in Aberdeen to show that hold ups and stoppages won’t be halting their momentum in terms of the title race.
It’s hard to know how the World Cup shutdown is going to affect teams in terms of their form and whether it changes the course of their respective seasons. Put it this way, if the Premiership hadn’t stopped when it did and the pattern continued in the way it was unfolding, the title race could have been over by the time Santa Claus got his white beard dirty sliding down the chimney.
But it did and, from a Celtic perspective, they must make sure they are stamping their authority on it all once again starting at Pittodrie. I’ve no doubt that Postecoglou has the squad and the set-up to ensure that happens, no matter any effects of the World Cup halt.
Managers across Europe have opined on how their players may react from the tournament and, looking at Celtic, it’s hard to imagine that it’s anything other than positivity which is coursing through the veins of Daizen Maeda, Aaron Mooy and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
All three performed with credit when they got their opportunities in Qatar and that’s got to boost their confidence. It’s more the mental aspect. Will there be any sort of come-down period from being at the greatest show in the game representing your country and having all those emotional highs and lows to switching back immediately to club business?
Josip Juranovic will be the same, even if he might not be around for much longer to test that particular theory at Celtic. Managers are going to find that out shortly and only time will tell. In Postecoglou’s favour, he’s got plenty of options to ensure all these lads don’t have to immediately perform now they are back.
Maeda and Mooy would struggle to get into the team when everyone is fit and fresh, as should be the case after the break with Callum McGregor’s return also a huge bonus. Carter-Vickers is the one who, as I look at the squad right now, is needed week-in, week-out. Having him on song from the get-go again is crucial.
Celtic have a laser-focus which concentrates on their own work, even if things may have changed somewhat across Glasgow. Before the shutdown, Rangers were toiling. They had fallen nine points behind and their confidence and form was shot.
The World Cup break has allowed the Ibrox club an opportunity to regroup and find themselves a new manager. Michael Beale has got a lot to do, but Thursday’s win over Hibs was the required starting point and his job is to put pressure onto Celtic.
He says himself they need favours from others in the top-flight to catch the league leaders and he is right, but he’s got to concentrate on his own tasks first and make sure Rangers are not slipping up against the rest as they had started to do with regularity the final days of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
In some respects, there’s another mini-changeover period approaching again in January with the transfer window when clubs and managers will be able to supplement their groups. Or, in a worse case scenario for some managers, have to deal with losing key men.
St Mirren, to use one example, are going to find it a lot harder to hang onto Keanu Baccus than they might have done if the young Australian hadn’t got a chance to show himself positively in Qatar. Celtic are probably going to lose Juranovic for the same reason and they have been ahead of the game with the capture of Alistair Johnston.
Seeing the Croat go wouldn’t be ideal from a team point of view. You can tell by the selections in the Champions League that he is the first choice right back and, regardless of your succession planning, no manager at any club finds it simple to replace a first choice.
But it would be excellent for the club’s balance sheet and the evolution of the squad if they get the right price. I’ve already stated that, if Celtic are going to sell, they should be driving a very hard bargain and fighting for top dollar.
I’d be starting with an asking figure for £25 million. Given the stupid money being paid out from some leagues and the desperation of January buying, I certainly believe they’d be selling themselves short with anything that dips well below the £20 million mark.
These are all subplots which are going on in the background. What happens on the park and how teams pick up the baton again is going to be fascinating. Celtic have an opportunity to take any hope away from their rivals over the upcoming two-and-a-half weeks. It’s a short but very key period which is upon them.
The crammed programme means there are four games coming before the end of December and the match against Rangers at Ibrox on January 2. If Postecoglou’s team defeat Aberdeen, Livingston, St Johnstone and Hibs and then go across Glasgow and win, they will be at the very least 12 points ahead of their nearest challengers with over half of the season gone.
If that happens, they could have another two shutdowns and another two World Cups between now and next May. There still wouldn’t be hope of halting Celtic.
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