Celtic striker Moussa Dembélé has emphasised his team’s calm approach as the Bhoys head into the final stretch of the season with a Treble well within reach. The Scottish champions have already won the Scottish League Cup and have all but sewn up the league. They are 27 points in front of second-placed Aberdeen, and only 11 games are left to play. The Bhoys have progressed into the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup where their Old Firm rivals Rangers await. Dembélé, who has attracted the attentions of some of Europe’s biggest clubs for his goalscoring exploits in his maiden campaign at Parkhead, believes he and his team-mates haven’t got carried away by Celtic’s fine 2016/17 season. He also stressed the importance of improving with each passing game, even though the league is all but over. “We are calm. We are just looking to keep going in every game. It is nice to be winning, it is nice to have the lead that we do,” said the 32-goal Frenchman in an interview with the Glasgow Evening Times.
“But we still want to be better. Every player here wants to get better. We are as hungry today as we were at the start of the season – because nothing is won yet.”
That hunger has seen the Hoops drop only two points in the league all season and break the Lisbon Lions’ 50-year-old record of going 26 consecutive domestic games unbeaten. They are currently 34 games unbeaten. At the heart of Celtic’s domestic dominance lie the club’s desire to win every game and respect their opponents, as Dembélé pointed. “We treat every team we play against in the same way. “We won’t go into the game thinking anything else other than that we have to work hard – that is the way we start every game. “We feel confident every time we step onto the pitch but we know that there is no such thing as an easy game,” the 20-year-old added.
Having beaten St. Mirren in the Scottish Cup quarter-final last Sunday, Brendan Rodgers‘ men entertain Rangers this weekend at Parkhead. The Bhoys have won all three games against the Gers this season. Celtic are effectively two games away from a domestic Treble. Keeping in mind they were dumped out of the Scottish Cup at the semi-final stage by Rangers last season, things will not be straightforward for Rodgers’ history makers. However, with focus intact and a sense of calm pervading the club, it will be a surprise should the Bhoys not complete a clean sweep of the domestic honours.
