It's not about a Guard of Honour for Celtic. The real debate is about a changing of the guard in the dressing room and who stays or goes.
Let’s get the first one out of the way immediately. If the situation does arrive as is likely where Celtic’s first game after clinching the title is at Ibrox on May 4, then I believe Barry Fergusonn and his players should applaud the champions onto the park.
I think differently about it now. In 2019 and 2021, I criticised both Rangers and Celtic for not doing it. Back then, I felt it was the right thing to do. I suppose deep down, I still do.
But, once we reached two years ago and Michael Beale’s team didn’t do it for Ange Postecoglou’s side, I gave up thinking it actually mattered because I knew it just wasn’t going to happen.
I said then that Callum McGregor and his team-mates wouldn’t be giving a toss and the same applies now.
But if I was Ferguson, I’d make it happen. Not just as an act of professionalism and respect, but because these Rangers players and staff should stand there and suffer and use the painful experience as an inspiration and motivation to ensure it never happens to them again.
Use it as fuel and fire to really drive everyone towards being the ones winning the title next season and making sure it’s them who are being clapped onto a park.
But the bottom line is will Celtic really care if it happens at Ibrox or not? No chance.
Brendan Rodgers and his team have more important things to deal with, such as winning Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone and then ensuring the title is secured at Tannadice before they even get to Ibrox.
By the time Celtic head across Glasgow to the other side of the city, the expectation is the Premiership is won and a place in the Hampden Final against Aberdeen or Hearts is in the bag, too.
Yet, regardless of what happens, there are going to be changes in the summer. Rodgers has made that crystal clear.
Interest in the likes of Nicolas Kuhn and Reo Hatate could easily result in one of them being the next big-money sale. It has proven overall to be a successful model, whether I have agreed with all of the timings or not.
One whose future remains in the balance is Greg Taylor, but if I was Celtic, I’d be chaining him to the front door until he signed a contract extension.
Now let’s be clear here. I’m not rewriting history. I had said that Celtic needed an upgrade in the left-back position for the Champions League and I do not shy away from that.
I felt, at times, Taylor was too vulnerable in the one-on-one situations in that environment. Certainly, Jeffrey Schlupp’s display against Bayern Munich when he policed Michael Olise superbly in Germany spoke to that extent because Taylor found it hard against him in the first leg.
Kieran Tierney is that upgrade. He is capable of playing at the highest level and performing to a big standard against Europe’s best.
But none of this means Taylor isn’t important. Quite the opposite, in fact. I watched him against Kilmarnock last weekend and it is clear to me that he is absolutely perfect for the way Rodgers wants to play.
The way he drifts infield into that inverted position, flits around to create overloads in the middle and plays with intelligence is clear. Domestically, when teams are going man for man and packing their two banks of four, Taylor’s ability is invaluable.
I’ll be honest, I don’t see Tierney as being able to do that as effectively. He’s a better one-on-one defender, but plays more on the outside linking with wingers in channels in the way Alistair Johnston does on the right for Rodgers.
Tierney isn’t as effective inside. It’s probably why Mikel Arteta picked Oleksandr Zinchenko ahead of him and now Myles-Lewis Skelly at Arsenal. Shlupp, as good as he has been in other aspects, hasn’t shown himself to me as being as effective as Taylor at it, either.
Now the fact no deal is agreed at this point is probably down to two few things. One might be the player wanting to be a regular at 27 years of age or wanting a fresh challenge. I get that, but there’s two aspects in that.
Firstly, no-one is guaranteed a game anywhere. Just go to France and ask Kyogo. There’s also the situation regarding Tierney’s injury record. I find it impossible to see a season where he plays 55 or 60 games given the recent record. Taylor is going to get plenty of opportunities.
If it’s money, then that’s down purely to Celtic. If Rodgers sees fit, the offer made by the hierarchy can surely make the player’s mind up for him. We all know the club’s success is built on being smart with finances, but it’s clear to anyone that Taylor has big value in a squad.
Just look at Boli Bolongoli or Alexander Bernabei for examples of past supposed upgrades on Taylor and how he easily saw them off the premises. It surely wouldn’t break the bank to offer Taylor the sort of package which would convince him to stay.
And, if an agreement could be reached to keep him at Celtic, I’d imagine there would definitely be a Guard of Honour for him from his team-mates walking into Lennoxtown the following morning.
