CELTIC could go eight points ahead of Rangers in the SPL title race today if they can beat Motherwell at Fir Park. It's a surreal scenario, because Rangers would still remain the strong favourites to win the championship on account of having four ga
mes in hand.
Walter Smith's side visit Easter Road tomorrow to face Hibernian, and after the elation and exhaustion of over two hours of football in Florence on Thursday, and a 5am arrival back in Glasgow yesterday, all eyes will be on how Rangers recover in time for tomorrow's match.
Yet despite the possible consequences for the title race, the talk at Celtic's pre-match briefing yesterday was dominated by reflection on Rangers' achievement in reaching the Uefa Cup final, following in the footsteps of the Celtic side who made it to the final in 2003.
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan saluted his Old Firm counterpart Smith, saying: "It is a fantastic achievement for the lads and Walter especially.
"I am only happy for the coaching staff and the players – get that right – because I know how much hard work they have had to put in to get to this stage and they really should be proud of themselves.
"And it's good for Scottish football, the profile is higher and it helps us to get further up the Uefa rankings."
Strachan was reluctant to reveal if he had sent any congratulatory texts or messages to Smith, saying: "If I have then it has been in private and no-one needs to know about it."
Celtic midfielder Paul Hartley also acknowledged the Ibrox side's feat by saying: "It's a fantastic achievement to get to a Uefa Cup final. They've had some tough games."
However, both Strachan and Hartley were keen to concentrate on the SPL title race which is heading for an exciting climax.
Celtic beat Motherwell 4-1 at Fir Park three weeks ago and Strachan is looking for more of the same. He said: "It will be similar to the last time. Neither side will be playing on a surface conducive to great football.
"Although in saying that, I looked at the game again and we played some half-decent stuff at times.
"We will go and try to play our good football but if not we will try to create as many chances as we can through other ways."
Strachan revealed that skipper Stephen McManus, who sustained a calf injury in the win over Rangers at Parkhead last week, is racing to be fit in time for the trip to Lanarkshire. He said: "We will look at him in the morning. We will give him until then because he is our captain. The rest of the team is picked but we need to just wait on Stephen."
Motherwell hold third spot by one point over Dundee United and manager Mark McGhee is desperate to see his side join Scottish Cup finalists Queen of the South in the Uefa Cup.
Watching Rangers reach the final of this year's tournament with a shoot-out win over Fiorentina on Thursday night has further whetted his appetite.
He added: "Aberdeen did quite well this season, getting beyond the group stages, and we would love the same opportunity.
"I played ten straight years in European football with Aberdeen, Hamburg and Celtic and I loved my European football and I have always said I would love to manage in it."
McGhee believes the Dons have rejoined the race after his former club beat Hibs last week. Aberdeen could move three points behind Motherwell if they beat Dundee United tomorrow, which would set up an exciting meeting at Fir Park the following Saturday. "I don't think you can ignore them, if they beat the rest of us you never know," said McGhee.
"The rest of us have got to play Celtic and Rangers, we could all lose to them and it would be down to the Aberdeen games. The Aberdeen game is really becoming a big, big game."
He added: "In a sense, the 15 outfield players I have fit are playing for ten places.
"The team was picking itself earlier in the season but we got beyond that stage. There are not a lot of stand-outs, everyone is pretty much in the same form.
"It is really a case of them putting themselves in our faces by their performances against Celtic and Rangers."
The full article contains 749 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
