Focused Rogne brushes aside SPL title talk

Celtic defender Thomas Rogne insists their approach would not differ if they were behind in the title race rather than 20 points ahead.

Celtic secured their 16th consecutive Clydesdale Bank Premier League win with a 2-0 victory over Dunfermline on Wednesday night and will move 23 points ahead of Rangers if they beat Motherwell at Parkhead tomorrow.

The title race has become more of a procession after Rangers were deducted ten points following their descent into administration.

But Rogne, who has been at Celtic Park while Rangers have won two of three successive championships, is not looking ahead to title parties or trying to break records.

The 21-year-old said: “It’s a big gap and of course we’re happy with that gap. But we know we’re on a good run and we want to keep it going. We don’t want to be complacent.

“We need to be professional and just look at every game and go for three points. I know you guys want me to say the league is over but it’s not. We’re looking to the next game and that’s our focus. We have been thinking about the next game all season and it has been working so far.”

Rogne does not believe their significant lead over Rangers will be pivotal in helping them maintain their impressive form, which saw them thrash Hibs 5-0 at Easter Road last weekend.

“It is an unusual situation for us, for any team really, but I think we play good football now because of the confidence,” said the Norwegian, who yesterday attended a Show Racism the Red Card workshop with Glasgow schoolchildren at Celtic Park.

“We’ve been playing well for a few months and that’s it,” he added. “We don’t think about the league when we go out on the pitch. The pressure we are under is the pressure we put on ourselves. So for us it doesn’t matter if we’re five points behind or 20 points ahead, we just want to play good football.”

Celtic broke a club record with their 19th consecutive domestic win in a single season and have another in their sights.

Martin O’Neill’s team won 25 successive SPL games in the 2003-04 season. But Rogne said: “Personally I don’t think too much about setting records.It’s just another game and three points and, if we get enough of them, that will be great.”