It has been the most scintillating 45 minutes of Ange Postecoglou ’s reign at Celtic so far.
A midweek Old Firm night at Parkhead, with the atmosphere crackling from every corner of the ground.
Before kick-off, the place was in darkness except for the huge spotlight on the team huddle.
It almost felt symbolic because they HAD to deliver against the champions and prospective Europa League semi-finalists.
And for a half, they simply blew Rangers away.
Three goals, fast-paced attacking football – it was exactly how Postecoglou wanted his side to play.
And the thumping 3-0 victory over their Glasgow rivals put them top of the Premiership for the first time this season.
Celtic haven’t looked back since. If they pick up a further three points today against Gio van Bronckhorst ’s side, the engraver can get started on the trophy.
The manager would be content with a similar performance to the one he witnessed back in February.
Back-handed compliments are rare when they’re going from one half of the Old Firm to the other.
But Postecoglou says their display that night against van Bronckhorst’s men was pivotal in proving to him they could play his brand of football against a top-quality team.
As he prepared for a third derby in quick succession, the Celtic boss said: “That was good because, going into the match, we knew how significant it could be.
“It was our chance to go top for the first time all year. After working awfully hard and chasing all season, we knew the significance of that.
“Irrespective of the atmosphere, we knew how much it meant so you build yourself up for that.
“You then wait and see what the reaction is from the players.
“But the whole group was fantastic, even though many of the players were experiencing the Old Firm derby for the first time.
“Boys like Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda, for those guys to stand up on a night like that and for the whole team to put on a performance knowing it was going to be so significant in terms of the league?
“That was pretty special.
“Was it comparable to anything I’ve presided over in the past?
“There have been different moments. With this team there have been other games where we have played better for longer spells.
“But on that particular night, for 45 minutes we showed against a very good opponent how we can play.
“And that was pleasing because it gave us encouragement to push on.
“It showed this group was willing to embrace the challenge of playing our football in the toughest of tests.”
Every seat was taken up by a Celtic supporter that night, with no away fans in the stadium.
Rangers will have a scattering of punters in the corner for today’s clash but Postecoglou expects a similar type of noise, with his side on the cusp of being crowned champions.
He said: “You know it’s going to be a special day and our supporters are going to be up for it.
“I think we will get a similar atmosphere this weekend to the one in February.
“But the support has been behind the team all season.
“They’ve really had a leap of faith with this team and backed it from the start when maybe it wasn’t quite so evident that we could be successful. They know we are in the final stretch and I’m sure they will want to make this derby as electric as they can.
“They will try to help the team and our role is to try to reciprocate by putting on a performance that reflects the support we have.
“Day or night, I don’t think it matters. It’s going to be a cracking atmosphere.
“We understand that games are running out now and every match we win between now and the end of the season gets us closer to our goal.
“There’s no doubt a win against Rangers this time gets us closer. There’s no shying away from that.
“But that was the case last week too. If we didn’t get three points against Ross County, the margin would have been narrowed and there would have been a different context around this game.
“Our job is to make sure we play as well as we possibly can and if we do that then it gives us a good chance of success.
“If we get that we move a step closer to where we want to be.” Rangers’ job is to try to stop them, delay any title party and maybe put a shred of doubt in Celtic minds before the final three games of the campaign.
If the Ibrox side win, they’ll reduce the gap at the top to three points. But the big decision for van Bronckhorst is whether he should rest key players ahead of their Europa League semi-final second-leg against Leipzig at Ibrox on Thursday.
They produced a strong defensive shift last week and got out of Germany with a narrow 1-0 defeat. But Postecoglou expects a different Gers at Celtic Park today.
He said: “It’s a different kind of game. On Thursday they had a very different objective.
“This time they have to beat us. From our perspective we just have to prepare ourselves to play our football and make sure we’re as
dominant as we can be early in the game, which is something we’ve done all year at Celtic Park.
“We want to put Rangers on the back foot and capitalise on those moments where we have the advantage.”
