It may not have felt like it on the day, but Celtic’s derby match with Rangers at the start of January wasn’t the most important match of the month. On Wednesday, Celtic face Young Boys of Bern in the Champions league with qualification for the play offs tantalisingly close. Celtic sit in 21st position in the table with 9 points and a win would almost certainly guarantee them a play-off spot. Just below them, like crocodiles under a trap door, sit sides such as PSG, Manchester City, PSV Eindhoven and Stuttgart. So it is absolutely vital that Celtic take full advantage of the decent draw they have been handed and beat the Swiss side. Anything less will leave them with a mountain to climb at Villa Park at the end of the month. Speaking of Villa Park, I have a good friend who lives and works in the fine city of Birmingham. He tells me the game is one the locals are looking forward to very much. Of course, they think they’ll roll Celtic as easily as they swatted Hibs aside in Europe a couple of years back but Brendan Rodgers and his players will have other ideas. Birmingham has a sizable Irish community and, as is the fashion in many cities now, the city is broken up into various quarters. In Birmingham they now have a Jewellery quarter, Knowledge quarter, etc. The area of Digbeth has been designated ‘Irish Quarter.’ Celtic fans will be guided there and will find plenty of friendly pubs but of course a major police operation will be in place as this is designated a high-risk game. Many pubs have already been told of the standard of behaviour expected on the premises and the likelihood that pubs will be closed if things get too rowdy. The local police have also warned landlords that songs mentioning the IRA or disrespecting the King may be dealt with by officers closing the pub. I know it seems ridiculous that expressing a negative opinion about a monarchy is something which might excite the police but England is culturally a different place from Scotland. I make no value judgement about Irish republican songs, but merely point out that there is a balance to be struck between freedom of expression and not offending people. Birmingham has recently marked the 50th anniversary of the dreadful pub bombings of November 1974, which killed 21 people and injured over 180 others. No one has ever been convicted of the bombings and it remains an extremely painful episode for many in the city. It is to be hoped that Celtic supporters show some tact and respect when in town. You just know certain parties will be waiting to blacken our club’s name, so if you’re travelling south, use your common sense. There’s a time and a place for everything. This is the actual communique being sent to pubs and other venues likely to be hosting Celtic fans On the field of play, Celtic are doing reasonably well without hitting the heights of the early season when they trounced Rangers and convincingly beat RB Leipzig. The challenge of facing a top six Premiership side is a daunting one but I’m sure we won’t disgrace ourselves. Villa, who sit fifth in the Champions League table, are a big, athletic and very talented side. Celtic however, must focus on the Young Boys match totally. This is where we can finally make a mark in Europe again. Our record of 2 wins, 3 draws and one defeat in this year’s UCL is good for a club from one of the smaller leagues of European football, but the prize of a play-off spot is with our reach. Let’s take it and then Villa Park can become a much more relaxing trip. I used to describe the Champions League as the caviar of club football and the week-to-week SPFL matches as our bread and butter. We are dining at the top table at the moment and if we want to continue to enjoy the caviar for a while yet then we need to make the Swiss Roll first. Let’s raise the rafters on Wednesday and drive Celtic to victory.
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