BlueMeanie
Well-Known Member
JOHN KENNEDY was talking nonsense when he said Celtic are the best team in the country.
How can they be better than Rangers when they are 20 points behind them in the Premiership?
As comments go, it was definitely a baffling one.
Kennedy must have known he was going to pulled up on it by just about everyone outside Parkhead.
But then again here’s the thing - everyone INSIDE Celtic has to believe what he claimed.
Kennedy has a job on his hands between now and the end of the season, and he can’t be seen to be conceding anything to Gers.
Steven Gerrard’s side have proved beyond all doubt to everyone in Scotland they are the best team.
But that doesn’t mean the people at Celtic need to buy into it. Or say it publicly.
If Kennedy came out and talked up Rangers he’d be leaving himself wide open to criticism from Hoops fans.
Not only that, the players he’s working with on a daily basis would have been left bemused by that admission.
Who knows what he believes deep down. But the fact is, he had to say what he said with such a big game around the corner.
I know we always hype up Old Firm games no matter the circumstances. The next one is always the biggest since the last one, isn’t it?
But Sunday’s Scottish Cup clash does carry some real weight if you ask me. Gers have a Double in their sights.
They are already champions and will be feeling great about themselves.
But being a Rangers player isn’t about winning one piece of silverware then taking it easy.
That club is built on success and doing it time and again.
So they have to park the title. Put it to one side, and celebrate it when the season is over.
In the meantime, there is work to be done and it’s in the Cup.
Remember, this is a competition that hasn’t been kind to Rangers in recent years.
They have failed badly in the tournament, and it’s been one of the major disappointments.
When the club was coming through the divisions, lifting the Scottish Cup would have been one of the big objectives.
But it hasn’t happened while Celtic completely dominated.
Losing to Hibs in the 2016 final was a very sore one under Mark Warburton.
But this season there is a real opportunity, and Rangers would have bitten your hand off for the chance to play Celtic at this stage.
Celts still don’t have a manager, and although Kennedy has got them playing as fluently as they have done for a long time, Gers will still fancy their chances.
This is a massive chance to put down a marker for next season. If Celtic win they can claim the gap isn’t as big as some people think.
Kennedy will maybe even think he’s in with a better shout of being named manager, with Eddie Howe still thinking things over.
I wouldn’t bet against that happening either, by the way.
It looks like Howe is holding out for a Premier League job in England, and keeping the Hoops on the backburner.
Maybe that’s wrong. Maybe it’s just about the timing of when Celtic announce a deal has been agreed.
If they lose on Sunday then the pressure will be more intense than ever with fans certain to scream for news about the next manager.
So maybe Celtic have something big lined up for next week, as they prepare to ask supporters to fork out for season tickets.
Kennedy won’t be thinking about it that way, though.
He’ll be looking at this Old Firm game as a big chance for him to prove he’s got what it takes to be the boss.
Don’t forget, this is a guy who knows what it’s like to be successful at Celtic.
He worked alongside Brendan Rodgers when it was as good as it gets for the club.
Some see it as a negative Kennedy has been there so long, but spin it the other way and it could be a big positive.
With all the changes that are coming at Parkhead this summer surely it would help to have someone there with his knowledge of the club?
That’s why I think there is so much riding on Sunday. But arguably it’s a bigger game for Rangers.
Steven Gerrard will be ramming it into his players that winning one title isn’t good enough.
He was a winner as a player because he always strived for the next thing, and then the next thing after that.
If there are players at Ibrox right now who just want to party because the league is in the bag then they are at the wrong club.
They have been successful this season because of how focused and relentless they are.
Rangers have been far and away the best team in the country. Don’t let anyone at Celtic tell you any different.
