It is safe to say that this has been a very difficult season for Celtic. Coming into the campaign, they were competing for a historic 10IAR, something that no Scottish club has ever achieved before. And after winning nine league titles in a row, confidence was high.
Unfortunately, things have not turned out as expected for the club. The Hoops ended up losing the title race to the Rangers with six games to spare. And now, they face a massive summer rebuild, with the aim of returning to the top of Scottish football as soon as possible.
Amidst all of this, a lot has been made about a potential guard of honour from the club to their Glasgow rivals, who will be coming to Parkhead this Sunday as the newly crowned champions.
But it was confirmed today that Celtic won’t be providing a guard of honour to Steven Gerrard’s side ahead of this weekend’s game. And John Kennedy has now explained the decision, pointing out how they were not given one a couple of years back. As reported by Sky Sports, the interim manager said:
"“It was the same two years ago when we were champions and if I am being honest, I don’t think such a fuss was being made about it. I don’t see it as a big issue.“For us, we spoke collectively about it and we won’t do it. It is not about lacking class, nothing like that, because we are a club that always shows class and dignity and do what is right.“But ultimately this same group of players went in as champions and didn’t get the respect that time if you want to call it that.“They are the same players who are being asked to stand there. We have decided collectively as a group. We will just get on with the game, park that, so we will focus fully on the game and just put that to bed.”"
More from Celtic FC News
- Celtic handed fresh injury doubt before Feyenoord game
- Celtic’s £40.7 million announcement should scare Rangers
- Brendan Rodgers makes superb claim about returning Celtic player
- BBC pundit makes sensational claim about Celtic hero Kyogo
- Kyogo Furuhashi sends clear message to Celtic doubters
Nobody can blame Celtic for this decision
Now, the guard of honour is something that has grown in prominence in football over the years. Whenever a team wins the league title, they are given a guard of honour before kick-off in their following games.
Celtic found themselves in a similar situation back in 2019 when they had won the title with games to spare but did not receive a guard of honour from the Rangers. Thus, they cannot be blamed for doing the same this time around.
The focus will now move to the game. While the title is gone, it does provide the Hoops with the opportunity to bring the Rangers’ unbeaten run in the league to an end. And a win will also give them the chance to finish the campaign on a positive.