The Ibrox side will employ every dirty trick in the book on Saturday. Celtic will need to be at the top of their game to ensure the black arts are irrelevant

Philippe Clement has been at Ibrox for just over half a year now.

When he first arrived in Scotland, he appeared to be a smart enough guy.

He talked sense, and it seemed for a while he wasn’t getting drawn into the insanity that swirls around Ibrox.

For a moment, we Celtic fans were worried that he was immune to the madness, and that as a result, he would see clearly and rise above it.

That he might just have the ability to focus on the football, rather than the cesspit beliefs of that club, and the insanity that surrounds it.

For a while there, he almost had us convinced as his side ate into our 7 point lead and caught up with us.

Unfortunately for him, the insanity inevitably caught up with him.

Today, we are seeing a completely different version of Philippe Clement to that which we were introduced to late last year.

He is tetchy and snappy.

Easily offended and wound up.

And he clearly does not have a sense of humour.

But Clement is not stupid.

Just because the Ibrox madness envelops every manager, it does not make them gibbering idiots over night.

If there is one thing Clement recognises since arriving in Glasgow, it’s the fact that referees officiate games involving his side to a different standard in comparison to every other side in the Scottish Premiership.

I sincerely doubt that he has managed a side prior to now that has received as many penalties in a season, as that of the side he currently manages.

Only a fool would not recognise this fact.

I’m also sure that when he reviews the stats of games involving his side, he also recognises that referees invariably award a higher amount of free kicks to his team than opposing teams.

Especially in contests involving ourselves and the Ibrox side.

The aggregate foul count in all three games this season stands at 56 fouls committed by Celtic, in comparison to the Ibrox side’s 39.

We saw how ridiculous some of the fouls given at Ibrox in the 3-3 draw were.

From the absurd penalty decision, to Goldson falling on the ball and receiving a free kick for it when Celtic were attacking.

Clement knows that this advantage his side has is very important.

Especially now.

He knows that to win at Celtic Park, this is something he will need to tap into.

He’s also smart enough to know that Celtic have superior players to his.

And that they will need to be nullified.

By nullified, I mean restricted from playing their game.

Hitting the deck at regular intervals will ensure Celtic’s midfield players, who are better, will be unable to attain the consistent momentum they need to keep the Ibrox side under pressure.

With Willie Collum, they have a referee who will fall for every trick in the book.

In Silva and Lady Cantwell, they have two players who like to think they’re masters of the dark arts.

In any other country, their behaviour would get the treatment it deserves.

But not in Scotland.

And they know it.

Clement knows it too.

He would be a fool not to, and as I said earlier, he might be a lot of things, but he isn’t a fool.

This is a must win game for them.

That’s the bottom line.

They have to win to really have any hope of winning this title.

Celtic, on the other hand, can afford to draw this game and will still remain in a strong position if they do.

So, the desperation lies with the Ibrox side.

And with desperation, comes desperate measures.

Clement will want to win this any which way he can.

If that means Silva diving for a penalty, then so be it.

If it means Cantwell hugging the dirt at every opportunity outside the box to secure free kicks for Tavernier, then so be it.

And if it means dropping to the ground every time a Celtic player so much as farts in the general direction of an Ibrox player, then so be it.

They will not play fair.

They’ll exploit Collum’s inability to control a pressure situation until there’s steam coming out of his ears.

When that happens, Collum could do anything.

Make any kind of erratic decision.

We all know this.

This is the biggest Glasgow derby in recent history.

Possibly since the game that stopped the 10 back in 1998.

A game that has the guts of £60 million riding on it.

If it takes playing dirty to get that money, you can bet your bottom dollar the Ibrox side will do it.

They are desperate.

But how desperate are we, you ask yourself?

Are we even desperate?

Of course we want to finish it on Saturday, but we can finish it from a position of power.

And that is the main advantage we carry over the Ibrox side.

We have the ability to keep calm heads.

We have the better players.

What we must not do is rise to the dirty tricks the Ibrox side will try to use against us.

If we can avoid getting drawn into a war of attrition, and play our game to the best of our ability, then we should wrap this up.

Remember that the Ibrox side will have to go for this.

They will have to attack us and go for the win.

And while they may not come out of the traps with all guns blazing, they will eventually have to come at us.

It is then that we will be able to pick them off.

The likes of Hatate and O’Riley will flourish in that kind of situation.

If Maeda plays from the start, then on the wing you will have someone who’ll pull Tavernier all over the place.

If they concede an early goal, then the floodgates could open.

But in order to beat them comfortably, we need to score at least 3 goals.

Two of those will be to act as guarantors against Collum and McLean.

On a level playing field, we should never have to worry about the referees.

But this is Scotland.

This is a game against a desperate Ibrox side.

So, to put it simply, we just need to better.

Better than their players.

Better than the referees.

And better than their dirty tricks.

Do that, and we will have this title pretty much wrapped up by 3pm on Saturday.

Nothing less will suffice.

Click here for – WITH COLLUM AND MCLEAN FOR THE UPCOMING DERBY AT CELTIC PARK, WE GET INCOMPETENCE AND IBROX FACING BIAS COMBINED

Click here for – THE PATTERN OF ASSISTANCE WAS IN FULL SWING OVER THE WEEKEND. IT’S ONE RULE FOR CELTIC, AND ANOTHER COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SET OF RULES FOR IBROX