WALKING out of McDiarmid Park on Saturday afternoon, the words of Thomas Edison came to mind amid the fading light. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
It is this very notion that continues to illuminate Brendan Rodgers’s reign at Celtic as he marches into his second winter in Glasgow. Indeed, it’s a quote he may as well have his players recite every Saturday as they too step into the darkness.
Sixty three games without defeat – 62 under Rodgers – points to a remarkable resilience which keeps them in the light and in the pink. Their latest haul on Saturday, coming in a 4-0 victory away to St Johnstone, typified everything that we have come to expect from the Scottish champions under the man who has managed to draw so much out of those already there, while shrewdly adding to his lot along the way. Previous occupants of the manager’s office at Celtic Park have struggled with a ‘hangover’ on the back of European nights, but Rodgers managed to rouse a ruthless and commanding performance from his lot in Perth. This was his 13th win from 16 matches on the back of a European game, the other three of course being draws. That stat speaks of a mentality that allows these Celtic players to re-acclimatise instantly to their bread and butter.
There is no sign of giving up yet. There’s no sign of them thinking anything other than ‘one more time’ as they continue to push the boundaries. Scott Sinclair started the rout on Saturday and finished it by appearing in the McDiarmid Park press room afterwards. While a humble chappy at the best of times, Sinclair was measured in the midst of great achievement. The landmark of overtaking the British football record of consecutive unbeaten games was acknowledged as a proud moment both personally and collectively, but he is aware there is still work to do to better it further. Indeed, 63 games on, and the biggest threat to Celtic’s incredible run is the very thing responsible for it.
“Is ourselves the only thing that can stop us? That’s it because when you look what we’ve achieved it’s down to us,” said Sinclair. “We need to keep improving, not get complacent and keep moving in the right direction.
“It is down to us and taking every game as it comes. That’s what we’ve done. We really have just looked at things game by game, we have beat the record now so we want to go on and keep breaking our own record. It’s great and the run just shows the team spirit, the hard work we have put in and the mentality we have.
“I have loved it, playing every week and scoring goals. This is a squad that wants to win and it’s a great achievement for the club to get this run. We haven’t thought about it too much although I’m sure in the weeks to come we will realise it and evaluate the situation.
“But right now, I don’t think we really understand what we have achieved. I haven’t been looking back at the team from the past, it’s only really what people have been telling me. For us, it has been about not thinking too much about it and just focusing on the goals we have set which is to keep winning.
“We want to raise the bar, keep winning and make sure it doesn’t stop now.”
Sinclair is one of those who were added early on in the Rodgers era and he, along with the likes of Moussa Dembele and Olivier Ntcham have shone. All three scored on Saturday along with poor Steven Anderson.
The real success though perhaps comes from the transformation of those who were already there when he replaced Ronny Deila in the summer of 2016, and getting them to relentlessly think ‘one more time’. During the week James Forrest outshone world superstars in the 2-1 defeat by Bayern Munich, just a few days later Kieran Tierney looked desperate to grab the goal to top off his new, deserved six-year contract. Plenty has been said about Rodgers’ captain Scott Brown and his transformation as well as Stuart Armstrong.
On Saturday, their dynamism and fluidity got the better of St Johnstone. Without possession a 4-1-4-1 provided a tough barrier, while in possession Tierney bombed forward on the left to provide a different threat and give Sinclair licence to drift inside. St Johnstone, who have now scored just once in six games, simply couldn’t cope. Centrally at the back it wasn’t a flawless performance from Celtic as Dedryck Boyata is partnered by Nir Bitton, perhaps another reminder after midweek that a centre-half should have been bought in, even on a short-term deal, during the window.
However, the absence of another stopper won’t be the reason that halts Celtic’s march towards making this current record unbeatable. It’ll be when they eventually don’t say ‘one more time’.
Don’t count on it happening soon.
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