Snodgrass senses worrying signs coming from Celtic
A former Scotland International and self confessed Celtic supporter has spoken of his belief that things are clearly not all that rosy at Celtic Park these days…
Robert Snodgrass like most Celtic supporters knows things are far from perfect within the confines of Celtic Park, and spoke openly about his worries.
As reported by Glasgow Times, Snodgrass said: “I’m seeing signs from Celtic that I’ve never seen before, not just performance-wise but with too much political chatter being made public.
“Celtic’s strength has always been keeping things in-house, backing each other and driving forward together.
“It feels like board-level issues have crept into the squad, making it acceptable, it seems, to speak freely about negative tactical or internal matters. I don’t like seeing it.
“The job at Celtic isn’t just winning matches, it’s winning titles. That’s the standard,” the former Scotland forward said.
Snodgrass said that the players need to produced a solid performance against Besiktas on tonight. He stated: “The main thing is to stop the talking and deliver on the pitch. They have a big game against Besiktas where they need a solid performance.
“Martin O’Neill’s teams over the years were always solid. They’re still top of the league, which is positive, but the high standards they’ve set in recent years mean expectations are huge.
“When you set those standards, people come for you, so you have to keep the wolves away from the door. We thought they’d turned a corner by beating Hearts, but losing 2-0 to Falkirk the questions are back.
“Growing up watching Celtic’s success, you know that facing adversity can actually be the making of a team. People feel they’ve left the door open for Rangers and Hearts instead of driving forward and pulling away.
“Seeing board-level matters reach pitch level is never good because it creeps into the players’ minds. It creates a real challenge, but the only way to get everyone off their backs is to stick together and put in winning performances on the pitch,” he said.
Snodgrass played for a multiple of clubs in Scotland and mostly in England including Leeds Utd, Norwich City, West Ham, Hull, West Brom and Luton.
He started out at Livingston and had a spell at Stirling on loan early in his career. He returned to Scotland after leaving Luton Town to play for Hearts for a season. But he never made it to Celtic despite a few close calls but nothing was ever sorted, much to his disappointment.
He added: “Every game at Celtic comes with huge pressure. The demand in Glasgow for both clubs is winning. They’re powerhouses who hate losing. There’s a specific demand to break down low blocks domestically, which is a different challenge from Europe.
“Celtic taking their domestic approach into Europe has been difficult over the last few years. Playing three games in seven days comes fast, so you have to rotate and manage the squad effectively rather than getting bogged down in off-field noise.
“You see Martin O’Neill using his experience to keep the players united through defeats because the games come thick and fast. Europe has been a test, but domestically, winning trophies is the absolute expectation.”
The Premier Sports Cup is gone for this season, so it’s all about retaining the two trophies won last season, the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup, amid an increasing challenge from the Rangers whose fans are already talking about the possibility of a treble.
They always do talk a good game that mob.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
