It does not take long for narratives to form in football. The current one around Celtic is that they are struggling. And to a certain extent, that is true. The performances have left a lot to be desired and very often Brendan Rodgers' side end up depending on individual moments of magic or penalty kicks. The recent results have been more consistent than most give the Hoops credit for though.
Over the last nine games, since their loss at the hands of Hearts, Celtic have won eight times and drawn once. That is a better record than the Rangers, who did lose the Glasgow Derby at Parkhead.
The narrative though is that Celtic are a team completely out of form while the Rangers are flying. Yes, Philippe Clement's side have done very well when it comes to getting results. But so have the Hoops following that stumble towards the end of last year when they dropped a lot of points in quick succession.
As reported by Glasgow World, while speaking on PLZ, Neil Lennon said about the current situation:
"Everyone is saying how Rangers are grinding out results but Celtic have won eight and drew one of their last nine games. That's pretty impressive, but they are the ones who are getting all the criticism.
"Brendan is quite rightly getting criticised because the performances aren't at the level that we expect them to be. However this is a new team with a new coach and they are still winning games. But the narrative is that 'Celtic are struggling and Rangers are doing really well'.
"You can understand why Brendan has got a bit spiky about it. The narrative is that everything is great on one side of the fence but not the other, even though the results have been the same. Celtic went out of Europe in early December but we are nine games on from that where he has won eight and draw one.
"The football has not been exhilarating but they are getting the job done. They should take some encouragement from that rather than banging on and saying that they haven't got the players."
Celtic hero gives Rangers fans a reality check
Just like it does not take long for perceptions to be formed in football, they change quickly as well. What Celtic need right now is to go on a run of impressive results.
As long as they keep grinding out results, the narrative will be that they are struggling to put away opposition teams. Rodgers' side need to string together a run of comfortable wins. If they can do that, then the view of this team will suddenly be a lot different.
It remains to be seen how things play out for Celtic moving forward. The 2-0 win over St Mirren away in Paisley did seem like a step in the right direction. There is a marathon still to run though.