THE ONE GUARANTEE IS THE SPFL’S SOLUTION WON’T PLEASE EVERYONE
EIGHT years ago today on a sunny April afternoon in Kilmarnock, I was part of the Celtic team that ended a fouryear wait for the club to be crowned champions of Scotland.
Our fans occupied three of the four main stands so, while we were playing away from home, we had the majority of Rugby Park behind us.
I can still hear the noise levels going from one side of the stadium to the other and back again as the Celtic fans chanted: ‘Come on you boys in green.’
We grabbed six goals against Killie without reply that day, with Charlie Mulgrew and Gary Hooper notching twice and Glenn Loovens and Joe Ledley also getting on the scoresheet.
But we didn’t have it all our own way at Rugby Park that season. In October 2011, we were trailing 3-0 to Kilmarnock at half-time and in trouble.
I wasn’t playing that day because of injury but I was watching the game at home.
I remember going into training after that match and the players were all talking about the manager’s half-time team talk and how it would probably have been Neil Lennon’s last game in charge of Celtic if they had not turned it around in the second half.
In an interview recently, Neil recalled that he had said: ‘Look lads, see if you want me here on Monday, you have to turn this around because we’re embarrassing the club and the fans out there’.
From speaking to the other lads, it was an angrier than normal half-time team talk!
In the end, the lads got a point after two goals from Anthony Stokes and another from Mulgrew secured a 3-3 draw.
It was a big moment for us because we went on to win our next 17 matches in a row.
At one stage of the season we had trailed Rangers by 15 points. Our season had nearly been over that night against Killie but that proved the turning point and we returned to Rugby Park on April 7, 2012, to win the league.
It was phenomenal to be part of that title win, which turned out to be the first of what Celtic are hoping in 2020 will be nine and then ten-in-a-row next year.
That sunny day at Kilmarnock remains one of the proudest moments of my career because it was my first championship.
But eight years on from winning the title on the Rugby Park pitch, I don’t envy the members of the SPFL who will discuss the championship and other outcomes in a boardroom meeting today.
The football season has been locked down now for three weeks because of the coronavirus crisis and tough decisions may have to be made by the footballing authorities.
But if they just call the season now and award Celtic the title, there are always going to be questions marks and ‘what ifs’.
Even though Celtic are 13 points clear at the top of the table, the fact we overcame a 15-point deficit in 2011-12 to win the title in Kilmarnock shows you how unpredictable football can be.
There are already people I know in Glasgow who say Celtic can’t call it a real title if Rangers were not in the same division as them.
Celtic have certainly shown their dominance since Rangers returned to the top flight but there would be fresh question marks over this title if it was handed out with eight games still remaining.
Hopefully, the measures the government are taking with the lockdown will work and we can all get back to normal in the not too distant future.
In an ideal world, it would be great if the remaining fixtures could be played and the title — and the relegation issues — could be decided after the regular 38 games. Even if matches have to be played behind closed doors.
So I would not be surprised if there is no decision from the SPFL today.
I think they will take at least a couple of weeks to look at the overall picture and take guidance and advice from the government, who are monitoring the latest health statistics on a daily basis.
If it turns out it’s not going to be possible to finish the season, then the SPFL will have to work out the way ahead. In that scenario, the only one guarantee is that whatever they decide won’t be to everyone’s liking.
Hearts have already said they will be seeking to take legal action if the SPFL call the season early and they, as the league’s bottom side before the shutdown, are relegated to the Championship.
But the flip side of any arguing is that football is very much secondary right now. People’s health is rightly of paramount importance during this crisis.
But the SPFL board has my sympathy because these are unprecedented times and they will be having conversations none of them will ever have expected to be taking place.