Celtic were given a glimpse of what life without Callum McGregor will look like in Perth at lunchtime on Saturday. And it wasn’t particularly pretty. Yes, they got out of town with all three points thanks to a dramatic late winner from Giorgos Giakoumakis and the Greek’s injury time heroics have kept them clear at the top of the table. For now.
This was a win dug out by sheer desire but all the guts and the grit in the world won’t make up for the calmness and composure which has just gone AWOL from the heart of Ange Postecoglou’s side. And which will probably be posted missing until after the World Cup in Qatar.
Without the quick thinking McGregor plotting Celtic’s progress from the middle of the pitch the champions looked ponderous and predictable despite all of their possession, of which there was more than plenty. And in the end they were within a couple of seconds of dropping another two points as Postecoglou enters the most testing period of his time in charge.
Because, despite all of the manager’s enormous reserves of self belief, Postecoglou’s entire process could be in danger of stalling. That’s what happens when confidence is bruised by a series of painful misadventures in the Champions League and although Postecoglou is adamant that his philosophy is perfectly transferable to European football’s elite level, the hard evidence is piling up to the contrary.
Last week’s loss in Leipzig was a thoroughly damaging affair but the heavier these defeats become, the louder and more stubborn Postecoglou’s message appears to become. In fact, there’s a pattern building here on both sides of Glasgow’s divide. Between them Celtic and Rangers have managed just a single Champions League point from a possible combined total of 18.
That meagre return - which was secured by Celtic’s draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk - provides damning proof that neither of these sides is even remotely close to being able to compete at the highest level. Scotland’s big two ought to be highly competent Europa League competitors. But, at this stage in their development, they are no more than that.
And yet, although their predicaments are similar, the fundamentals plaguing Postecoglou and Giovanni van Bronckhorst could hardly be more different. One of them appears not to know - or refuses to acknowledge - his team’s own limitations. The other seems too afraid to find out what those limitations might be.
Postecoglou is like the little fella in the school yard who goes windmilling after the fifth years even though it almost always ends the same way. With a bloodied nose and a missing tooth. Van Bronckhorst, on the contrary, is running around the playground with his hands in the air, screaming, ‘Not the face! Not the face!’.
But what makes these contradictions so frustrating is that neither of them seem willing to accept that they might not have got it right. Surely there must be some managerial middle ground for them to agree on. If only Postecoglou could bring himself to be a little bit more pragmatic and a little less slavish to his own philosophy.
And if only Van Bronckhorst could borrow a pinch of the big Aussie’s courage and self conviction then both of them might be able to take what they need from this competition despite getting off to woefully inadequate starts. To his credit, at least Postecoglou is making a proper go of it. He’s also onto something.
His aggressive, attacking approach most certainly makes Celtic a must watch on the European stage. But the limitations of his own players means there’s a car crash element to it at the same time. Postecoglou’s strategy may be good fun and sound in theory but the reality is it will only pay off regularly at this level when Celtic’s personnel is upgraded across the board.
With a defence left so wide open to counter attack, what he needs is the likes of a Virgil van Dijk or a Giorgio Chiellini minding the till at the back. With the best will in the world, a partnership of Stephen Welsh and Moritz Jenz requires a great deal more protection than it was given in Leipzig on Wednesday night.
Also, Joe Hart is being asked to do things with a football at his feet which take the Englishman way beyond the boundaries of his comfort zone. Make no mistake, Hart is a world class shot stopper but he’s also an accident waiting to happen whenever he’s distributing it along the deck which is why there was no place for him at Manchester City after Pep Guardiola arrived at the Etihad.
While Celtic might be able to get away with such high tariff risk taking week to week in the domestic game, it’s a kamikaze policy when adopted against the best in the business. So if Hart feels the need to boot it into row Z when confronted with Leipzig’s lethal front four again then that’s precisely what the keeper should be encouraged to do.
Postecoglou’s grand plan does not need to be thrown out with the bathwater. But, for the time being, it does require slight tweaks and - heaven forbid - a more safety first approach at specific, key moments in some of these big games under the lights.
Meanwhile, across the city, Rangers will have to prove they are not scared of their own shadow when Liverpool arrive for the second leg of a Group A double header on Wednesday night. Somehow, if they are to have any chance of securing the point they need to stay in contention for third place, Van Bronckhorst has to summon up enough bravery to stand toe-to-toe with Jurgen Klopp and give the German genuine cause for concern.
He has to embolden a group of players who looked utterly terrified at Anfield last week and encourage them to trade blows with the likes of Mo Salah and Thiago Alcantara rather than stand back and admire them before asking for their shirts as a keepsake.
And Van Bronckhorst should at all costs avoid the temptation to join in the recent Ryan Kent pile on even though he did just that at the weekend by leaving his most talented creative talent on the sidelines against St Mirren.
If Rangers are to make this return leg a Battle of Britain worthy of the name then they will need all their biggest hitters out there throwing the punches. Leaving a player of Kent’s unquestionable ability out of the line-up would send out a signal that Rangers simply aren’t up for the fight.
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