Judging by last night’s performance at Plzen, Russell Martin might need that haircut before he faces Celtic

So, the Ibrox side are through to the final qualifying round for the Champions League.

They join us, where both of Glasgow’s clubs will endeavour to make League phase of Europe’s premier competition.

They won’t be shouting for us, and we won’t be shouting for them.

That’s just the way it is.

And always will be.

Their two-legged tie is arguably harder than ours.

But then again, they don’t face the logistical nightmare we do with our trip to Kazakhstan to face Kairat Almaty.

We saw how well organised Club Brugge were when they came to Celtic Park in last season’s league phase.

They certainly gave us a game.

In reality, they presented a much sterner test for us than Red Bull Leipzig did.

We were lucky to get a draw from that game.

Luckily for the Ibrox side, they’ve already had a taste of Brugge in their recent pre-season friendly.

Who would have guessed that fate would bring them together again?

But friendlies are a hell of a lot different to Champions League qualifiers, and Brugge are seasoned campaigners in this competition.

Let’s not forget that they dispatched Aston Villa last season in the League phase before being knocked out by them in the last 16.

In the last 32, they sent Atalanta packing with home and away wins against them, and a 5-2 aggregate score.

They are without doubt the favourites in this tie.

On paper, Celtic should be able to beat Kairat Almaty, but on paper and on the field of play are two completely different things.

There is no doubting that the logistics of travelling to Almaty will play havoc on the players.

James went into great detail on this in his article on our qualifier earlier on today.

But I’m not so sure I share his worries when it comes to facing the Ibrox side the following Sunday in the Glasgow Derby after the second leg.

Let’s not forget, they will be coming off the back of what could be a bruising encounter against Club Brugge.

Granted, they don’t have to travel very far to face them.

But Brugge may well have taught them a footballing lesson on their patch, and morale could be pretty low going to the following Sunday.

Let’s get one thing straight here, Brugge are not Panathinaikos or Viktoria Plzen, they are several notches above.

They are a quality outfit, and on their day, they can beat the best of them.

Which we saw in last season’s CL, as they made it to the last 16.

I watched the Ibrox side’s performance last night against a very poor Plzen side, who at times, ran rings around them.

Their goal came totally against the run of play.

In the end, they still lost the second leg to what I would consider to be a bang average side.

If Plzen had just been that bit more clinical, the outcome could have been totally different.

Now, as we’ve been made well aware of recently, the Ibrox support don’t like Russell Martin’s hair.

In fact, they really, really, want him to cut it, as it appears to be far too much of a distraction.

Martin seems to spend more time playing with his hair than he does focusing on what’s going on on the field of play.

This sort of behaviour just won’t do on Derby day.

So, I think Russell Martin, if he takes the whole Glasgow Derby experience seriously, should respect the fan’s wishes.

He should cut his hair.

Because on Derby day, the less things there are to distract you, the better for you.

And based on what I saw last night in Plzen?

I think Russell Martin will need to be 100% focused when it comes to facing Brendan Rodgers.

Now, I’m fully aware that we’re not exactly top notch up front at the moment, but let’s face it, neither are they.

In their opening fixtures, since they played Panathinaikos, not one of their strikers has scored a goal.

In that respect, they are in the exact same boat as we are.

Whether either side will have a new striker in their ranks by the 31st of this month remains to be seen.

I guess the fixtures commencing on the 18/19th of this month will go a long way to deciding that.

Or not, as we were apparently told yesterday, which I covered in last night’s article.

It is interesting, though, that the upcoming CL fixtures for both clubs will probably go a long way towards deciding how each side’s season will pan out.

Because you can bet your bottom dollar if the Ibrox side somehow managed to get past Brugge, there is zero doubt they will spend money on transfers.

Whereas us, on the other hand?

We’ve spent enough time talking about transfers this summer, I think we’re all well versed in what might and might not happen.

I’ll tell you what should happen before the 31st, though.

Russell Martin and that hair, its got to go.

And if it doesn’t, there’s a good chance the Ibrox fans could be calling for his head if they lose to us.

Hair and all.

Because looking at that powder puff midfield of theirs last night, I think Rodgers could just have their number on the last day of this month.

There’s an interesting couple of weeks coming up.

One wonders what will happen to Martin during them?

Hair today, gone tomorrow?

YouTube: The Final Countdown

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