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ZICO SETS CELTIC TARGET
By Trialist
Paul Hartley has set Celtic the target of winning all three of our remaining SPL matches – against Motherwell (A), Hibs (H) and Dundee United (A) – if Celtic are to have any chance of winning the League.
After back-to-back humpings of the Huns, the Hoops currently lead the Evil Empire by five points, though TFOD has six matches yet to play compared to our three.
However, with the possibility of fatigue, injuries, suspensions and self-inflicted fixture congestion being significant for the Huns, Paul Hartley believes Celtic, currently on 80 points, must reach the 89 point mark in order to challenge the Huns to win five of their six remaining League matches.
Ahead of Celtic's trip to Fir Park, Paul Hartley said: “Saturday's match is just as important as the O** F*** games. It's a must-win. We can't afford anything other than maximum points now. But that has been the case now for a few weeks.”
Paul continued: “We've known, if we are to give ourselves any chance of winning the League, then we'd have to go on a decent run and win all our remaining games. Since we lost to Rangers at Ibrox and then at home to Motherwell, we've won four matches in a row. As well as back-to-back successes over Rangers, we've defeated Motherwell at Fir Park and beaten Aberdeen at home. So we've responded well.”
Paul added: “Now it's a case of taking each game at a time. We have three huge matches to play and we need to take nine points from them.”
However, Paul Hartley, who has played a major part in Celtic's resurgence, is under no illusions. Motherwell, Hibs and Dundee United, who are competing for third place in the SPL and with it the treasured UEFA Cup place, will provide Celtic with stern opposition.
Of our opponents, Paul Hartley said: “All three have enjoyed really good campaigns. Mark McGhee has done a fantastic job since taking over as manager at the beginning of this season and Motherwell have some really good young players in their team. But Dundee United have performed really well, as have Hibs.”
Paul continued: “They are all competing to finish in third position as they'll be desperate to secure the final European place and all three still have a great chance of doing so. So we face some big tests during the run-in and the fact we have a few sides pushing for a UEFA Cup place means we will be facing teams with plenty to play for.”
Paul added: “However, Rangers have also to play these same teams so it should be interesting.”
There remains the possibility that goal difference might yet prove decisive in the Championship challenge, but even though Celtic skelped Motherwell 4-1 on our recent visit to the Fir Park beach, Paul Hartley insists winning all three points on Saturday is the priority.
Paul Hartley said: “I don't care how many goals we win the game by - just as long as we win.”
Paul continued: “I thought we played well at Fir Park recently and it was a good result, but the bottom line is we need three points regardless of how we perform. We'll go into the game in confident mood because we've put a few results together now and we have played some good stuff.”
Paul added: “But in every game you've got to go out there and do the business and get the job done.”
We've said it before on Keep The Faith and we'll say it again. If Celtic win this SPL title, and with it our third League Championship in a row, it will be the sweetest League triumph since 1997/98, especially because of our multi-headed, culturally traditional enemy's ‘Operation: Stop Three In A Row'.
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