Michael Walker: Celtic seem stuck in that old cycle again - beating Rangers could help break it

Saturday afternoon, Parkhead, Glasgow: as Celtic usher an undramatic 2-0 victory over Livingston towards the final whistle, the fourth official raises his sign to inform a subdued audience soaked by swirling gusts of rain that there will be six minutes of additional time.

“Six minutes!” exclaims a Glaswegian voice high in the Lisbon Lions stand.

The tone is incredulous – as if asking “who would want another six minutes of this?”

Many had already supplied their answer, departing into the dark, wet pre-Christmas Glasgow night. Some had not ventured out – every seat was sold apparently, but at kick-off there were plenty unoccupied. Others gathered at the top of the stairwell to make sure they did not miss a third home goal, or a Celtic collapse.

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The previous Saturday, after all, Celtic had lost 2-0 here against Hearts and the reaction was as you might expect. Given Celtic had lost the game before that – 2-1 at Kilmarnock – fans had zoomed through the zone of concern and were now expressing alarm.

From some there was also hostility. This was aimed at the board of directors and club hierarchy, and at manager Brendan Rodgers who, it is not forgotten, has walked away from this green scene once before. To the outsider Celtic’s position in the scheme of things seems set and assured, yet within the world of Celtic, it does not feel like that.

Rodgers’s prematch press conference had been marked by questions on “negativity”. Relations between the decision-makers and the support have been soured over transfer business, politics and the Green Brigade ultra grouping, failure in Europe and the return of Rodgers himself in place of the departed Ange Postecoglu.

In reply Rodgers touched on the 69-game unbeaten run he oversaw from May 2016 to December 2017, and a Treble won – three of his seven Celtic trophies first time around; he did acknowledge things have changed, though.

“In my whole time here the first time,” Rodgers said of the negativity, “I never felt it. Never for a day did I feel it.

“I probably felt it from the first day since I came back.”

He then spoke of the importance of harmony at any club and said “I’m really hoping now we can draw a line under the situation with the support base.”

It meant that Livingston at home – not your standard must-win fixture – was indeed must-win.

The club context gave last Saturday a hint of competitive jeopardy. But, to the detriment of Celtic and Scottish domestic football, it was just a hint. Livingston have actually beaten Celtic twice in the past four years, but they have never won at Parkhead and, bottom of the Scottish Premiership with 10 goals scored, brought about 50 fans. There was zero expectation of an away win and although Livingston defended admirably, as soon as Celtic scored the contest was over.

Celtic attacked with width and speed but not enough midfield craft. It was 0-0 at half-time and as in the stands as the first half petered in and out, down on the concourses it was quiet. People queued for tea and burgers. There was little chuntering. This could be interpreted as a display of patience or of apathy. There are Celtic fans who will tell you definitively one or the other is correct.

A screen on the wall informed Celtic had 77 per cent possession. Yet their main striker, Kyogo Furuhashi, had touched the ball a mere 11 times. It was a bland form of domination and it is one of the accusations aimed at Rodgers’s Celtic that they are going through the motions. There is no zest, no spectacle. There is no Big Ange.

Not long after the restart Kyogo poached an opener and five minutes later Liam Scales leapt to guide in a corner with a neat header. Livingston were done. Now everyone was waiting – for minute 90. Then those six on top.

It was a peculiar atmosphere because the whole way through the Green Brigade drummed on. This most vocal and vibrant section of the Celtic support are not to everyone’s taste, to put it mildly. The club took issue with the group’s visible and loud support for the Palestinian cause, its pyrotechnics and general “unacceptable behaviours” of which it said there had been a “serious escalation”. It withdrew season tickets.

But last Saturday the Green Brigade were back and duly staged a pro-Palestinian display during the second half. They also sang Ooh-ah up the ‘Ra and the seasonal ditty Merry Christmas Everyone – although this version ends: “F**k the Huns”.

Three days on, at Dens Park, Dundee, the songbook was again open, broadcast live on Sky TV.

Once again Celtic were facing opposition with limited budgets and ambitions. Once again it was 0-0 at half-time, Kyogo missing a great chance. Once again Celtic scored shortly after the restart and once again it was all over.

Dundee are a club of greater history and stature than Livingston, but they came up from the Championship last season and had not beaten Celtic at Dens Park since 1988.

1988 – when Rodgers was 15 and trying to make it at Ballymena United. 1988 – a rare, genuinely interesting statistic that speaks of the uncompetitive nature of too much of Scottish football.

Swathes of empty blue seats confirmed local perceptions of sporting and financial disparity. The consequent dilution of intrigue or even interest hurts all involved. Dundee, like Livingston, were not dire, but they won one corner over 90 minutes, whereas Celtic forced 23. There is no risk in a 23-1 corner count, nor is there much sport. The attendance was under 10,000. Unless you’re a Celtic fan, why would you go?

It was a question raised after another recent Dundee match watched by 4,000.

“If I’m a paying customer, I’m not coming back to watch that,” said Ross County manager Derek Adams, admittedly after seeing his side concede in the last minute.

“Rubbish,” was Adams’s verdict on the standard he has seen since returning from League Two football in England with Morecambe.

It was an intervention that provoked responses critical and supportive. It is coincidence that Celtic won 3-0 at Ross County before their Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid – and a 6-0 defeat. They also beat Dundee 3-0 in September before going to Feyenoord and losing 2-0. But it is instructive coincidence.

“It’s a huge gulf, you see that,” Rodgers said after Atletico. But he could have been talking about Dundee or Ross County or Livingston.

It is, of course, a cycle Scottish football has been in since the 1980s – Aberdeen were the last non-Celtic/Rangers champions in 1985 – and it is worth asking if it will be that way into the 2040s. Will Dundee go 60 years without beating Celtic at Dens Park?

In the face of Glasgow’s dulling duopoly, it is notable therefore that Hibs and Hearts could still sell out an Edinburgh derby on Wednesday night and, in dreadful weather, Kilmarnock could take 1,540 fans to St Mirren. Scotland are at the European Championships in Germany next summer. There are positives.

But it is valid to note how uninspiringly Scotland’s major east coast clubs have been run for decades. An Edinburgh challenge, for instance, would stimulate the whole league.

At boardroom and other levels Celtic have at various stages felt stuck in this cycle and here they go again. Had Rodgers’s squad made it past Christmas in Europe it would be different, but the Champions League experience was sobering and now it is week after week of domestic fare.

And yet, while it did not feel like it against Livingston, there are twin motivations for the rest of the season: to construct a significantly improved squad over the next two windows – and Celtic, run stealthily, have a healthy bank balance – and to win the title. It guarantees Champions League football in next season’s expanded, enriching format.

Celtic could yet twist again. A statement win, statement signings, would bring back the thunder.

Their next match offers opportunity; there is a third consecutive Saturday game at Parkhead. It is against Rangers.

Celtic are five points ahead having played two games more. But Rangers, who will be in Europe in March having topped their Europa League group – having reached that competition’s final in 2022 –, are rewired under new Belgian manager Philippe Clement. They have not lost any of his 16 matches in charge. They have energy.

As at Ibrox in September, there will be no away fans. Theoretically that should help Celtic. But if Rangers take the lead, 60,000 pairs of eyes will swivel towards Rodgers and the board, awaiting their next move.