Charlie Mulgrew on what Celtic need to be mindful of in post-split fixtures

Celtic fans find themselves in a familiar position as the Bhoys are on the home straight amid their battle with Rangers for the Scottish Premiership title.

Last night, Philippe Clement’s outfit failed to claw back our margin at the summit following their 0-0 draw away to Dundee. This left a gap of three points between both sides heading into the post-split fixtures.

Despite panic on the other side of the city, Brendan Rodgers and company will remain calm as the run-in reaches fever pitch, with five important matches left to come in the title race.

Nothing is won or lost right now, and Celtic go to Dens Park on Sunday facing Dundee, 28th April, at 3 pm before crucial back-to-back encounters against Heart of Midlothian and Rangers at Parkhead, pencilled in for May 4th and May 11th, respectively.

Our final away trip of the season comes at Kilmarnock on the penultimate day of the Scottish Premiership calendar before St Mirren Travel to Parkhead on May 18th, where we will hopefully lift a third successive title, all going to plan.

Psychologically, Rodgers appears to be in a tranquil mood amid the noise surrounding both sides of Glasgow. He reminded journalists that the run-in is ‘where Celtic comes alive’ after our 3-0 victory over St Mirren last weekend in his post-match press conference.

Whether his statement was intended to pile pressure on our adversaries or merely just an observation, Celtic are in a coMMAnding position at this stage.

Charlie Mulgrew’s mindful reminder for Celtic

Former Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew has been on both the winning and losing side in title races, and he knows more than most not to take the eye off the ball at this stage.

Speaking ahead of the Bhoys’ Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen, the ex-Scotland international indicated that despite his old club being in a good position, they can’t afford to take any of their remaining fixtures for granted, which is fair comment.

He explained [Cited via The Daily Record]: “Celtic are coming up against an Aberdeen side which has just got a new manager and that has been picking up some better results lately. They have some good, dangerous players and they’ll be looking to get to a final.

“That’s what Celtic have to focus on – take it one game at a time – and be in the moment of the semi-final. Then, going into the league, you can’t afford to think it’s all going to hinge on the Old Firm game.

“Just look at Rangers up at Ross County at the weekend, up against a team fighting for their lives in the league. Other teams are fighting for Europe and there are other teams with no pressure who maybe don’t have much to play for.

“It’s dangerous to take your eye off the ball so both Celtic and Rangers will need to be ready for every game and the Old Firm game will take care of itself when it comes along.

“Straight away, you look at the fixtures, and Celtic’s next Game is away at Kilmarnock, and everyone knows how difficult that’s going to be. So there are big obstacles in the way for both teams, but they can begin to see the finishing line now, and I’m sure they’ll know what they have to do.

Celtic need to take a sensible approach to remaining fixtures

Celtic are in a strong position; however, until names are inscribed on trophies, plenty of work remains to be done at Parkhead.

Heart of Midlothian, Kilmarnock, St Mirren, and Dundee all have continental qualification slots to play for in the top six, making for an intriguing end to the 2023/24 campaign.

Despite this, Celtic have a clear path to success, and it is now down to Rodgers and his players to see through their aspirations.

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