The fear is REAL at Ibrox, as the realisation hits that their season could be over on Sunday, with 7,500 Celtic fans on hand to celebrate that fact…
Eric Knott 
(Photo by Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
If Celtic win at Ibrox on Sunday, there’s a very distinct possibility that the home side’s season could be over as a result.
They now sit in 3rd in the Scottish Premiership.
They are 6 points behind leaders Hearts, and they still have to travel to Tynecastle.
Celtic leapfrogged them on Wednesday night amid much rage and angst over our second goal.
The perfect storm is gathering over Ibrox in the build up to Sunday.
The ‘famous old venue’ will, in reality, resemble a tinderbox ready to ignite on Sunday.
The last time Celtic celebrated a win with 7,500 fans in the Free Broomloan end was in March 2018.
On that particular day, French Eddie scored the winning goal which resulted in the closure of the Free Broomloan.
Until next Sunday, that is.
The fear is REAL here.
And the fact that Ibrox cheerleaders like Barry Ferguson are manifesting this fear proves that it is very REAL.
Barry Ferguson says us celebrating isn’t an option for them.
Danny Röhl wants our fans silenced.
Good luck with that.
The Ibrox fans can bouncy bouncy all they want, it won’t stop us from making our voices heard.
That’s the thing.
When we had the Free Broomloan prior to 2018, we always generated serious noise.
That was what upset them so much.
You know what the funny thing about all of this is, though?
Whenever there is a build up to a derby game at Celtic Park, you never hear this guff about silencing the away fans.
The Celtic manager doesn’t state that they must be silenced in media conferences.
You don’t read about or hear ex-Celtic players saying that celebrating at their end isn’t an option.
Why is that, I wonder?
Well, the answer is pretty simple.
We’re confident in our own ability to back our team.
We always have been.
Celtic fans rarely turn on their players.
You see, that’s the overriding fear at Ibrox right now.
They NEED their fans to back them and to be behind them.
They cannot bear the thoughts of them turning on the players, which we all know they are wont to do.
Celtic fans and management rarely have to fear something like that.
Hence the reason you never hear it mentioned in the run up to Derby games at Celtic.
Last January, the fans turned on the Celtic board in the aftermath of the 3-1 loss to the Ibrox side.
And rightly so.
Because they were the ones who landed us in that position with tens of millions sitting in the bank.
At Ibrox, the fear on Sunday is that we’ll take the game to them, thus silencing their fans, and providing a platform for our fans to out-sing and out-shout them.
That terrifies them.
Its dripping from everything you read in the media right now.
They are telegraphing their fears instead of staying quiet about them.
Celtic will feed off that fear.
Our fans will thrive on it.
They really are setting themselves up for a major, major fall, if things don’t go their way.
They’re beginning to fear that the trajectory of their season now rides on this single fixture next Sunday.
We are not thinking that way.
In fact, we are headed there confident that we have the backing of 7,500 fans, and we now know the key to taking the game to them on their own patch.
Martin O’Neill will take great confidence from last Sunday’s second half performance.
Tactically, he will set us up to ensure we do not begin the game like we did in that brutal first half last weekend.
He will utilise players to their strengths rather than expose the weaknesses that were on display in those opening 45 minutes.
As I’ve said many times before now, O’Neill is a wily old campaigner.
He is already inside Danny Rohl’s head, and streets ahead when it comes to mind games.
The Celtic camp is quiet.
No bombast.
No bravado.
Not a single story in the media today demanding that our fans silence theirs, or that we cannot allow them to be celebrating come the final whistle.
Celtic proved last weekend that when we click, they are no match for us.
That’s the template Martin O’Neill will take to Ibrox on Sunday.
He will be quietly confident that he will have a tremendous backing from 7,500 Celtic fans, and so will his players.
That’s the difference.
We are quietly confident.
Fear is seeping from their every pore already.
We can smell it.
Come Sunday, we need to prey on it.
Prey on it, and put their lights out.
Do it Celtic.
Finish their season on Sunday.
Key Takeaways
- Celtic can end the Ibrox side’s season with a win on Sunday, as they currently trail Hearts in the league.
- The atmosphere at Ibrox is tense, with fears of Celtic fans rallying behind their team during the match.
- Celtic fans are confident in their team’s ability, contrasting with the pressure at Ibrox where home fans may turn against their players.
- Manager Martin O’Neill prepares to leverage the momentum from a strong performance, ensuring tactical improvements for the derby.
- Celtic’s success hinges on capitalizing on the fear and pressure at Ibrox, needing to ‘put their lights out’ this Sunday.
I would be much more confident if we had a striker that scores goals
We are not exactly inna great position to win any trophies either. On current form Falkirk should be the cup favourites regardless who wins the derby.
Not even thinking about winning the cup, at this stage just thinking about putting that lot back in their box.
C’mon the hoops.
Absolutely need to get our ultras back in our ground before we can think seriously about winning the league this year,starting next Saturday v Motherwell.As for the SC,it’s a bit of a lottery and could go anyway.