Celtic v Motherwell: 'Maybe Rangers will get a wee bit nervous if we score early doors,' says Mjallby

Published on Friday 13 May 2011 19:24

Celtic v Motherwell Clydesdale Bank Premier League At Celtic Park, tomorrow, kick-off 12.30pm Live: Sky Sports Interactive and BBC Radio Scotland

STRANGER things have happened. The Celtic squad must have heard those words from family, friends and fans alike this week, as they prepare for a match in which even a thumping great victory may well prove futile.

For much of the season, goal difference looked like being a factor in the outcome of the league championship, and for much of the season it was working in Celtic's favour. Now, though, it will come into operation only if Rangers lose at Kilmarnock tomorrow at the same time as their Glasgow rivals draw at home to Motherwell.

That is an improbable circumstance - and so, as the bookies will tell you, is anything other than a Rangers victory at Rugby Park. So Celtic can only concentrate on winning their own match, and hope that something extraordinary will indeed transpire down the road in Ayrshire.

But the thing is, while the Celtic players' acquaintances may be indulging in wishful thinking when telling them that stranger things can happen, there is one man at the club who has the experience to back those words up when he utters them. For Johan Mjallby has been here before.

As a player in his native Sweden, the Celtic assistant manager was in an identical position with AIK Stockholm a point behind with a game to play. They were in an even worse position than Celtic are now, as leaders Helsingborg were playing an already relegated team - and yet AIK ended the day as champions.

"The week before I signed for Celtic, I won the championship in Sweden from the same position," Mjallby recalled yesterday. "We let the advantage slip before the final game of the season and Helsingborg were one point ahead of us.

"But we won our game and they slipped up. We won the championship and it was a bit surprising. But it can happen - stranger things have happened."

The other similarity between then and now, of course, lies in that phrase "We let the advantage slip". After the last Old Firm game was drawn, Celtic held their fate in their own hands - but then came last week's visit to Inverness, when they lost 3-2 to Caley Thistle. It was a spirit-sapping defeat, one which still has Mjallby somewhat baffled - although if the league is lost, he will accept that other results along the way were just as important.

"All of us are still disappointed that we slipped up. We lost the advantage of having it in our own hands. We didn't see it coming because, before the Inverness game, we had only conceded 19 goals. We didn't see us conceding three.

"What we can do now is hopefully perform like we did against Hearts (whom they beat 3-0 on Wednesday], get the three points and then what can you do? You just hope that Kilmarnock do us a favour and play brilliantly against Rangers.

"An early goal would help, definitely it would help. But maybe if you get an early goal, even two, I still think you have to say Rangers are strong favourites to win the championship.

"Maybe they're going to get a wee bit nervous if we score early doors. But it doesn't matter how we play, in a way, or how many goals we score - because goal difference isn't going to be an issue. Just as long as we get the win.

'The worst thing would be if we dropped points. It's all about the win, about work rate and self-belief.

"If the players perform like they did against Hearts, I'm sure it's going to be difficult for Motherwell to cope with us."

"It's too early to go through the whole season. But I'm sure in a couple of weeks' time you'll sit down and go through your mind every single game and every single moment. Did we pick the right team for that game? And things like that.

"Most of the time we've been brave and not gone with the same side all the time.

"Most of the time we've been spot-on and picked the right team. Before we came people didn't know if we were tactically aware or not but we've shown enough about that.

"We will kick ourselves for the Inverness game if Rangers win the title and we will think that was the most important point of the season. But you could also look at the three draws we had at home, and the time when we were two up against Inverness and conceded a stupid goal."

Those matches serve as a reminder to Mjallby that there is room for improvement in the Celtic ranks, but he is also sure that he and Lennon and their coaching colleagues have the squad in a better state now than it was at the start of the season. Whether that means the campaign has been a success, however, will remain a moot point until after tomorrow's game and then the Scottish Cup final next Saturday.

"I think that's up to others to decide," Mjallby said. "I'm quite satisfied with the way that we've improved the team. We've played some quite decent stuff and in the way we want to play the game.

"We've been quite attack-minded and have improved the defence by conceding less goals.

"But I'm always looking for perfection. There is definitely room for improvement. It's up to the board and Neil to decide whether it's been a good season or not when they sit down to talk about things."