“Delaying the play” was what Giovanni van Bronckhorst called it after Kilmarnock lost to Rangers last weekend.
You and I know it better as time wasting, parking the bus or attempting to suffocate the opposition by use of negativity. Union St Gilloise tried the same tactic in their Champions League qualifier against Rangers on Tuesday night, without being able to prevent the inevitable. PSV Eindhoven won’t do it at Ibrox this week in the play-off tie for the Champions League group stage because they have a European pedigree and a strong conceit of themselves as a result. The Dutch also have a manager in Ruud van Nistelrooy who wouldn’t stoop so low because that would reflect badly on his carefully-cultivated image.
That’s all very well and good for him. Nobody would describe Derek McInnes as anything other than a proper football manager with the good of the game at heart. But when his Killie side face Celtic in game three of the league season today, Derek doesn’t have the luxury of polishing his image for public inspection.
“We’re not here to entertain,” he said after frustrating Rangers and their fans – but only up to a point – a week ago. It was a former, trophy- winning Rugby Park manager Bobby Williamson who once famously stated: “If you want entertainment go to the cinema.”
That was his way of saying clubs like the newly-promoted Kilmarnock live in a world of accumulating points for survival by whatever means necessary. Last weekend at Ibrox they faced a team who were in the Europa League Final just 10 weeks earlier.
Today, live on television, they’re up against a Celtic side who are waiting to find out who they’ll be up against in the Champions League groups.
The defending champions are also going for 35 league matches in a row without defeat.
And they spent more on players in the close season than Kilmarnock have done for the same purpose in their entire history. The Rugby Park side bought no one in the summer and have a team heavy on loanees from other clubs.
Under those circumstances, McInnes can’t get too precious about how he approaches matches like this one.
Delaying the play might not work in the final analysis – but if Plan B is all-out attack against Ange Postecoglou’s team then we all know what will happen.
I had a lively discussion with a Celtic supporter on air after Ross County had come within six regulation minutes of getting a draw against Celtic last weekend.
The caller reckoned County’s approach was a disgrace because it was only the second game of the season.
But Malky Mackay has to fix the roof while the sun’s shining in Dingwall. If he doesn’t protect his club now then there will be structural damage by the time the dark nights come in.
Celtic and Rangers live in the lap of luxury. A place where money’s no object and they’ll go unchallenged for the league title, probably from now until the end of time barring unforeseen circumstances. There’s a middle-class community – Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and Dundee United – who will win more than they lose and aspire to the winning of a cup sometime.
Then there’s the folks in the low economy neighbourhood who live hand-to-mouth and can’t trouble themselves over what others think about how they keep the wolf from the door. It’s not that they lack ambition. They suffer from a lack of equality and levelling up means doubling down on defence in the face of financial disparity.
How will Ange describe that attitude of mind today? He won’t say a thing because he won’t notice.
Kilmarnock could come out dressed as Ninja Warriors and Celtic’s manager would still only be focused on what his team is doing. The supporters will need to accept that’s what they have to do as well.
You can’t have all the money, the stellar players, the title and the bulk of the crowd and have a petted lip at the same time.
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