Celtic mainstay looking forward to Rangers clash for reason beyond establishing eight-point gap

Perpetual undulations seem at work for Celtic in this season’s title race.

One key element is one Celtic full-back Greg Taylor's mind when he assesses what waits in store on Saturday as the Scottish champions lay host to title rivals Rangers. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

As they headed out of Dens Park late on Boxing Day after a satisfying 3-0 success that put further distance between them and the recent back-to-back league defeats shaking the club to their core, there was only one discussion-point around Brendan Rodgers’ side. It took the form of the likely need to avoid defeat in Saturday’s derby to prevent them losing their place at the summit of Scottish Premiership. However, the storm-induced travel disruptions for Ross County that forced the postponement of their bitter rivals’ hosting of the Highland side the following evening has placed a different slant on the confrontation at the weekend.

Suddenly, it is a game that affords Celtic the opportunity to establish an eight-point gap over opponents utterly revitalised under Philippe Clement, but who have contested two fewer games than the adversaries whose league crown is firmly in their sights. Yet, it is not this backdrop that it seems Greg Taylor is set to consider when he ruminates on a match-up where there is “only three points on the line; like every other league game”. Instead, it is the full force of the entire 60,000 capacity at Celtic Park willing him and his team-mates on – a consequence of his club denying Rangers any ticket allocation – that appears to whet his appetite.

Three weeks ago, the atmosphere at the stadium was toxic with chants of ‘sack the board’ reverberating as Rodgers’ men slumped to a 2-0 loss against Hearts that consigned Celtic to a first home league defeat in almost three years. At least initially, the backing will be universal – as it was even as Celtic trooped off the pitch at the end of a first-half at Dens where they were unable to force a breakthrough. The Scotland full-back delighting in the travelling fans being “right up for it”, as is a given for Rangers coming to their patch. “[It is an] amazing feeling,” he said. “Having a stadium full of your own fans, right behind you pushing you from the moment go. So it’ll be exciting and we are all looking forward to it.”

The Dundee success following on from a convincing-enough 2-0 home win over Livingston prompts the belief in an anticipated mood swing. Taylor, though, doesn’t concur with the contention that in the aftermath of the Hearts reverse – on the back of a second-half collapse that resulted in a 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock – there may have been too much of a rush to forget that even this season Celtic have shown they can be a force to be reckoned with. “No, I wouldn’t say so,” Taylor said. “We had disappointing performances and, when that comes, you get a bit of stick. That’s normal, especially at a club this size. The supporters demand performances and results. The two defeats together weren’t good enough, so, no, I think it was justified we took a bit of stick, but there are a lot of boys in there [the dressing room] with big, broad shoulders who can take it and go out and prove [people] wrong.”