TITLES are lifted in May. But they are often won – and lost – during the famously hectic festive fixture schedule.
Like Christmas trees and those annoying mischievous elves whose antics provide a nightly headache for parents across the land, that will soon be upon us, and for Celtic, it all kicks off with a match against Motherwell at home this afternoon.
It is the first of nine domestic fixtures that the champions will have to negotiate between now and the winter break, ending with a visit to St Mirren on January 2nd, and taking in what looks a potentially pivotal clash with Rangers in the penultimate game of the run on December 30th.
All going well for Brendan Rodgers and his men, Celtic could potentially hold a double-digit lead at the top of the Premiership table by the time of the shutdown, albeit Rangers – given their involvement in the League Cup Final - will have played a game less.
Even still, that would surely be an unassailable gap when you factor in the infrequency by which Celtic are dropping points, and Rodgers is well aware of just how critical a spell lies ahead.
“It’s the period coming up that sets you up for the end,” Rodgers said.
“I think there is a busy schedule of games between now and January 2nd, which I’m really excited by and looking forward to.
“We have won 11 out to 13 and travelled to some really, really difficult places. That was especially [the case] when we were still finding out feet at the beginning.
“Now we are starting to find rhythm and speed and tempo in our game and confidence too.
“So, starting this weekend, it’s the start of a number of big games for us. And I’m really excited by it.
“In the last schedule we had seven games in a 21-day period. It was a really intense period.
“We now go into this period now until January 2 with a whole host of games. But really, I just look at the next one, as boring as that sounds.
“I can’t forecast what Motherwell will bring or what Aberdeen and Rangers will do. I can prepare ourselves and that’s my only focus. I’m only really looking at ourselves and winning the games.
“Of course, if teams have games to catch up then you’ve got to play them at some point. But really my focus is on ourselves and performing well, which will hopefully see us get the results we want.”
Rodgers had originally planned to whisk his players away to warmer climes during the winter break after the punishing festive schedule, but concerns for their safety put paid to that.
They will though get a chance to unwind and reconnect with their families, with Rodgers a firm believer that such small graces play a large part in building a successful team.
“I always think it’s period where you can break the cycle and have some warm weather training,” he said.
“Where we were looking to go, out to Abu Dabhi, because of the situation in the world and everything else I didn’t want to bring any risk to it. Rather than waiting to see what happens, just make the decision early, and allow the players just to spend some time with their families, which is probably more beneficial anyway.
“And, if we need to pick up some warm weather training later on, we have a chance to do that.
“They would have had a number of days and then we would have gone for a training camp. It will still be the same timeline, it’s just that they will be able to rest physically and mentally with their families.
“Especially over the next six weeks, they are going to be away from them a lot anyway, and you are going to have guys whose parents are coming from abroad to be here. So, it will actually be nice for them to reconnect.
“I always think as well that when you are a group or a team that wants to win trophies, you don’t win them in the last week of the season. It’s all these little moments that add up to arriving, to becoming a winner.
“Giving the players the chance to refresh after what will have been a hectic period…a footballer’s life, we’re very privileged and we’re very lucky, but it’s not attuned to normal life.
“So, we’re working when everyone will be celebrating and enjoying themselves, and in that period a player can get the chance to have their Christmas a wee bit later with their families.”
As for the shorter term, Rodgers is hoping that the ongoing Green Brigade shutout won’t prove a distraction when Motherwell come to town this afternoon, and he has urged the rest of the Celtic support to show their backing to the team after there was a strangely muted atmosphere during the thumping win over Aberdeen last time out.
And no matter the gripes certain sections of the support may have with the club and the board at this moment in time, he is sure that the team can rely on the backing of the full Celtic fanbase.
“I don’t think that is with the side,” he said.
“I think the team were absolutely brilliant against Aberdeen, because there was, it was a funny sort of atmosphere.
“Normally when you come back from the defeat that we had [against Atletico Madrid] and the situation and then you are playing against a good team that have done well in Europe and had some good results, for the players to pick themselves up and play to that level and quality with that concentration, I took my hat off to them at the end.
“I told them they were absolutely brilliant, because sometimes you have the home crowd that is really with you, you know?
“But what I’ll say is that from a football perspective, we will continue to concentrate.
“The club are working with the different factions of the support base. Ninety-nine odd percent of the support base is there with the team, and there is this little side issue that I hope we can resolve sooner rather than later.
“Because we are obviously much stronger as a force when everyone is together.”
