But as always (to borrow another musical metaphor) every rose has its thorn and the thorn is Celtics’ board and their inability to see beyond their bank balances. The team needs investment however, a new striker for one is a must but at time of writing the board continue to drag their feet. Hibs' Kieran Bowie is certainly catching the eye of other clubs and we could do much worse, in my opinion, than look to bring him in. But as always there’s a price to pay and whether Dermott is willing to prize open the biscuit tin remains to be seen.
Speaking of Bowie, Hibernians themselves fought out a draw with the vastly improved Motherwell. Under Jens Berthel Askou, the Steelmen are playing very attractive football and are a threat to anyone. No longer does any team expect to turn up at Fir Park and leave with three points. How long they can keep their man is a question only he and they can answer. Will be be swayed with a job in England? For the good of Scottish football I hope not but sadly the lure of big money “down south” is a difficult one to resist. For now purely from a neutral standpoint, let’s enjoy his brand of football and how he has this team playing. Motherwell are a joy to watch.
Sticking in the central belt, Livingston (a team I have a soft spot for) look doomed already to be playing in the championship next season. Four points adrift of second bottom Kilmarnock, who themselves are four points away from tenth placed St Mirren, it’s already looking like it’s going to be a long difficult season for David Martindale's men.
At the other end of the table however Hearts continue to fly high, leading the chase from the usual suspects. Sure their match with Dundee was marred by some questionable refereeing, They showed such true character when down to ten men, after the dismissal of their keeper just before half time, that they hung on to claim three points, helped greatly by a wonder save by current Scotland number one Craig Gordon who at 43 is playing as well as he’s ever done.
Rangers kept up the chase with a 2-0 victory over luckless Aberdeen who are winless since December 14th. A big club, the fans deserve better and should be challenging for honours season after season rather than languishing in mid table.
Back to the bottom six, and Falkirk inflicted a damaging defeat on Kilmarnock, beating them 2-0 at Rugby Park. Like Livingston I fear for their future in the SPL. New faces in the manager and assistant managers seats, Neil McCann and Billy Dodds appear to have their work cut out but who knows with the transfer window wide open perhaps they can strengthen the team and drag themselves away from relegation fears. Rangers themselves seem to have adopted the Danny Rohl style well and are now looking more like the team we expect to see at Ibrox. Without doubt certainly in the mix for the title and playing some very watchable football. Could the young German lead “the bears” to title glory? The fans seem to think so. A demolition of Celtic in the latest Glasgow Derby and a comfortable win over the dismal Dons. Things are looking rosy down Govan way.
Meanwhile those of us of a “green persuasion” wait with bated breath scouring news sites, fan pages and Celtic minded podcasts in the hope signings will be made. Will we find that 20+ goal a season striker? Will we be able to find a player who spends more time on the pitch than the injury table? All will be revealed in time. Just don’t get your hopes up Celtic fans. They say it’s the hope that kills you, if that’s true we’ve all died a thousand deaths.
Til next time . . .
🐼 Gary Robertson is the TPQ Scottish football correspondent.
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