The Greatest Opinion Reviser: Celtic's win over Rangers was as therapeutic as month at Alpine sanitorium

Rodgers, board and new signings all healed by big win over Rangers

Many labels are attached to the duels that place Celtic and Rangers in each other’s sights.

In recent times, Scottish broadcast partner Sky have been promoting their sporting covering by heavily riffing on The Greatest Showman. The aftermath of Brendan Rodgers once more appearing able to sprinkle magic derby dust, and so inflict a first defeat at the Ibrox helm for Philippe Clement, should have their marketing department considering a twist for the clubs’ next affray in April. The events of Saturday afternoon at Celtic Park surely were proof positive that the fixture is The Greatest Opinion Reviser.

Whatever Rodgers’ over-ripe attempts to present a sense of disquiet over where he and his team could be headed this season as mere media fabrication – it was the fanbase where the real frothing was to be found – Celtic needed healing. The Northern Irishman’s standing needed healing among the more fretful, fractious elements of the support. In that sense, the 2-1 victory over their ancient adversaries, and a number of facets within that, proved as therapeutic as a month at an Alpine sanatorium.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 30: Celtic's Liam Scales tackles Rangers' Ross McCausland. he Irishman again stood up in another major occasion and says he is used to the demands required in them. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Simply consider the alternative of a Rangers win. It would have been open season on all at Celtic, with blunderbuses absolutely laying waste. Rodgers, as the first Celtic manager in almost 30 years to lose three league games in a calendar month, would have been presented as a coach on the wane and having been robbed of his foremost power in this domain through suffering defeat in a first home derby. A result that would have bolstered the sense of his Belgian counterpart, who would have boasted a 17-game unbeaten run, as a man with Scottish football in his thrall. All before more mighty salvos would have been launched towards Celtic’s board for their slammed summer transfer activity.

Instead, the contributions to the vanquishing of Rangers made by no fewer than three players who arrived during that period suggests it could yet prove far from a near-total write off. Benfica loanee Paulo Bernardo, with his bustle as well as his bagging of the beezer opening goal, was crucial to the win. As was centre-half Maik Narowcki, pressed into action for his first senior minutes in four months after Stephen Welsh was lost to a shoulder injury approaching the interval. Wingfer Luis Palma was quiet, but even if his form varies there have been few questions raised over his £3.5million signing from Aris owing to the Honduran’s notable impact in a number of previous games.

No-one needs tell Liam Scales that derby displays can entirely flip perceptions. A simply not-good-enough squad filler before being pitched in at Ibrox in September because injuries made him the last remaining option, in standing up that day, he has been able to stand tall ever since. ‘I’m getting used to it now,” said the 25-year-old Irishman. “I’ve had that experience of Champions League games and a couple of these derbies and there have been so many big games lately. It doesn’t take many to get a feel for what the big occasion is like and what it demands. It’s just a case of going out and doing the job you always do on the pitch.”

His 22-year-old Polish partner at the weekend can now follow a similar path, Scales feels. The unavailability of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Welsh ensures the pair will link up again for Tuesday’s Paisley assignment against St Mirren which represents their final encounter before the winter shutdown. As much of a must win as Rangers for Scales, who has every confidence that the test can be another the £4.3m signing from Legia Warsaw can come through. ‘When Maik came on [in the derby] he was outstanding,” he said. “I thought he was brilliant, winning every ball that came his way and playing passes 40 yards. Kyogo’s goal actually came from a pass that Maik played to break the lines. To be thrown in a situation like that and do so well is brilliant. Maik came in over the summer and did well then got his long term injury. That held him back, but he has been fit for a while now and he was patient waiting for his chance. I thought he really took it.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers celebrates with the fans after beating Rangers.

Scales and all within the Celtic set-up will be conscious that they have struggled to plunder chances against opponents who prioritise stopping them doing so. Stephen Robinson’s men, even as a team capable of exhibiting an attacking edge, won’t be averse to sitting deep. It is notable that while Celtic have notched back-to-back wins over a Rangers who go toe-to-toe with them, they have slipped up against such as Kilmarnock, Hearts, St Johnstone, Motherwell and Hibs as these teams have allowed the Scottish champions to play in front of them. But Scales considers that Celtic are a different proposition now following the soul-searching that came after the home loss to the Tynecastle men in mid-December straight after they had been beaten in Ayrshire. Reverses that have given way to three straight wins.

“The fans demand wins every week,” he said. “I think after those two games as players we said, ‘Right, we need to change something and change it fast because we can’t lose any more games’. That is what we did I suppose. The way we did it was by focusing on our football rather than anything else. After the Hearts game we looked to be more aggressive and have more speed in our play. That is what we have been trying to do. If we can play at a really fast tempo for 90 minutes we will eventually break teams down who are tough to break down. That has really been the main focus.”