THIS WEEKEND has been a seminal one in writing the history of the 2020-21 SPFL season. After St Mirren's epic first win over Celtic at Celtic Park since 1990, it is a case of WHEN not IF Rangers clinch league title number 55.
Title 55 - now When rather than If
To clinch that iconic tenth straight title, Celtic would have to score 18 points more than Rangers in 12 games – assuming they win their two games-in-hand – not even Neil Lennon or the most-myopic member of the Celtic Family can see that happening. For Celtic to win the league, Rangers would need to simply stop winning, while they themselves would have to find the consistent winning form which has eluded them thus far.
If this did happen, there would have to be the most-extreme “Stewards' Enquiry” in the history of sport – it will not happen. And, there is another potential headache on the horizon.
The best points tally Celtic can achieve this season is 91 points, and reaching that assumes they win all 14 of their remaining games. Rangers are already on 72 points, so, (again assuming Celtic go on a winning run which is unprecedented this season, and Rangers too keep on winning) they could be set to reach their theoretic target of 92 points – by winning the meeting of the two clubs, at Celtic Park, on 20 March.
OK, it may well be that fans are still being denied admission to games when that fixture comes around. It might be that dropped points elsewhere by one or both teams means the Rangers winning the league at Celtic Park scenario no longer applies – but, if it does, it's an unnecessary added headache for the football authorities and the police.
Then there is the elephant in the room – what happens with Neil Lennon?
With Alex Dyer parting company with Kilmarnock, following Saturday's surrender of a two-goal half-time lead to loss to St Johnstone, the calls of “Lennon Must Go” from the less-patient members of the Celtic Family – and the rival calls of Lennon Must Stay” from the other side of Glasgow, have intensified.
With a new CEO coming in, in the persona of the SRU's Dominic McKay, probably a new Director of Football and almost-certainly a replacement for Lennon, Celtic have a raft of personnel changes to make off the park, little or no wriggle room to get new players in this transfer window and a bourach of bother, largely of their own making, to sort out between now and next season.
Speaking of McKay; my old mucker, Aristotle Armstrong – the Scottish Rugby Philosopher has been sparring with Dom for a number of years. I asked him what the Celtic family can expect from the new man, and he told me: “Dom's a St Aloysius boy, which makes him Celtic Family aristocracy, he's a fan. He will be very good within the corporate field, where he has excellent contacts – he will keep the big money coming into the club.
“He will be out of his depth in football politics, but, he will learn quickly and bring-in guys with the knowledge he lacks. He was the pick of the bunch of the top men at Murrayfield and will be good with the media, I think, he will be a very good CEO for Celtic.”
It appears as if Lennon is now: “A dead man walking,” just about the main bet available in today's expanding betting market is: predict the date when Lennon and Celtic part company.
Do Celtic pull the plug now, or wait until nearer the end of the season?
We certainly live in what the Chinese refer to as “interesting times.” Scottish fitba – it might be mince, but, it is always entertaining.
What about the one man who did suffer at the weekend – Alex Dyer, who lost his job as Kilmarnock manager, following a very-inconsistent season capped by a really-bad loss to St Johnstone.
A large section of the Killie support had been calling for Dyer to go for a number of weeks, now, these critics have got their way. I have always felt that Dyer, while a terrific coach, was better-suited to a role as a Number Two, rather than being the main man, as Manager. He will, I think, not be out of the game for long and I wish him well.
There will not be the same overkill over Dyer's successor as over the Lennon situation, but, I feel Bill Bowie and the Rugby Park board will move quickly to fill the gap. Gary Holt, for one, would crawl across broken glass for the gig, but, he is Marmite to a large section of the support.
Meanwhile, Director of Football James Fowler has experience as a team manager and as a former player would be well able to hold the fort in an interim basis pending the appointment of a full-time manager.
Being a manager in the Scottish Premiership is an uncertain job. Only Derek McInnes at Aberdeen has been in-post for longer than two seasons. He has been Dons' boss since March, 2013. Second longest-serving boss is Rangers' Steven Gerrard, appointed in June, 2018. The only other manager with over two years in-post is Brian Rice at Hamilton Academical, who celebrated two years in-post last month.
Counting the next Killie boss, no less than half of the Premiership bosses have been appointed during this season. Perhaps, a spell of calm and consistency on the jobs front is called for.
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