The hard work starts now for Celtic

Article by e-Celtic Correspondent Tom Shanahan

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The curtain will close on the inaugural season of the newly refurbished Scottish Premiership in less than a week. For Celtic the season has had many positives but has also been tinged with some lows.

Many critics will point to the fact that Celtic only managed to win one domestic trophy out of a possible three and that winning the league is no longer an achievement, considering there is no real competition.

Being knocked out of the League Cup at home by Morton is never acceptable, especially when you look at how poor Morton have performed in the Championship this season. The Scottish Cup campaign was also another disappointment with another home defeat. Losing to Aberdeen should be met with some realism however, especially when you see how well the Dons have performed under Derek McInnes this term.

There was also the disappointment in losing some major players during the season with the likes of Gary Hooper, Kelvin Wilson, Victor Wanyama and Joe Ledley all moving down south. Losing Hooper, Wilson and Wanyama played a major role in Celtic struggling to recreate the incredible Champions League highs of the previous campaign. Manager Neil Lennon was not given enough time to replace the team’s spine as players like Nir Biton and Teemu Pukki were only signed after Celtic had guaranteed their inclusion in this season’s Champions League.

Although people will always point out the negatives Celtic can also take a lot of credit for what they have achieved in the Premiership. With 2 games to go they are 30 points clear and are on course to reach 101 points, a total only surpassed by Martin O’Neill’s side in 2001/2002 season.

The Hoops are additionally on track to score more than 100 goals in the league which confirms how thrilling they have been going forward this season. Kris Commons has played a massive part in this with 30 goals so far this season, a phenomenal amount for a player not considered to be a striker.

There was the record breaking clean sheet record when Fraser Forster did not concede a goal for over 12 matches. Over the last few years there has always been a sense that Celtic were vulnerable in defence, thankfully that has now been rectified. Forster was of course instrumental in this run but credit must also be given to the defence and in particular the pairing of Efe Ambrose and Virgil Van Dijk.

Van Dijk has been a revelation this season. For someone so young he shows tremendous composure on the ball as well as a deceiving turn of pace. He’s the type of defender not seen at Celtic Park since the early 90’s when Paul Elliott was fast becoming a Celtic hero.

This league dominance is one thing that was missing from last season and Neil Lennon has rightly shown his delight at this transformation.

The season might be coming to a close, however the next few months are going to be critical for Glasgow’s green and white.

In early July the Champions League qualifiers will begin with Celtic having to once again navigate three qualifying rounds. With it being a World Cup year Lennon and his players will have hardly any time to rest before the 2014/15 challenges begin. Add in to the mix that due to the Commonwealth Games Celtic’s qualifiers will be taken place at Murrayfield in Edinburgh instead of Celtic Park and you have all the makings of a potential banana skin.

The Champions League is now seen as the one thing that makes or breaks Celtic’s season. Reach the top table of the Champions League and the club will be at least £15 million richer and the fans can expect at least six pulsating ties to look forward to. It also gives the players the chance to test themselves against the best in Europe, which is invaluable experience especially for the younger members of the squad.

One man who could be ready to prove he has the quality for the Champions League is Nir Biton. Before his injury Biton was starting to show exactly why he was bought last summer. This can also be said of January arrival Stefan Johansen. Both these young players like to get on the ball and make things happen. They both also show an enthusiasm for doing the dirty side of the game, a trait needed in the Scottish Premiership. I for one think this could be the Celtic midfield in the near future with more emphasis being placed on maintaining the ball.

I also expect over the next few years to see a larger influx of youth players being given their chance in the first team. This is undoubtedly the road that Celtic wants to go down and something that Celtic fans should be excited about. The way youngsters like Darnell Fisher and Liam Henderson have stepped up when called upon has been a huge bonus for the management and fans. It is maybe unrealistic to expect a modern day version of the Quality Street Gang but it is certainly something that Celtic should be striving to achieve.

There is also the challenge of winning the first domestic treble since 2000/2001. This is a marker that seems to be used to show that Neil Lennon and his side have underachieved. This is quite simply a far too harsh criticism. Celtic have only won the treble three times in their history, twice under the great Jock Stein and once under Martin O'Neill, when Lennon was of course an integral part of the side. This statistic alone shows just how difficult winning the treble is to attain. Neil Lennon has come agonisingly close before and so knows his players aren't too far away from achieving a fourth treble for the club, although as stated before improvement is certainly needed from this season.

There has been speculation that Neil Lennon will move from Celtic in the summer but the general feeling is that the lure of the Champions League as well as the opportunity to create more domestic history are things that Neil will not want to turn his back on just yet.

The next few months are going to be an exciting time to be part of the Celtic family. Potential Champions League nights at Celtic Park, a fourth consecutive league crown in touching distance and the chance for Neil Lennon to become the first Celtic manager to win the domestic treble as a player and a manager.

This season may be almost over but season 2014/15 is not far away. Bring it on!

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