Luke McCowan’s comments following Celtic’s win over Stuttgart appear to have got under the skin of Rangers manager Danny Rohl ahead of Sunday’s Glasgow Derby.
Celtic’s victory in Germany was the club’s first ever win on German soil, and as the countdown to the derby began, Rohl faced the media at his pre-match press conference. It quickly became apparent that McCowan’s post-match remarks had caught his attention.
Rohl pointed out that Celtic are currently sitting second in the table behind Rangers, noted that they have suffered seven or eight defeats this season, and said he was a little surprised that Celtic had not pushed for a bigger winning margin against Stuttgart rather than holding the result. He added that the goalkeeper situation at Celtic Park would also be worth watching, before concluding that it generally makes little sense to spend too much time talking about the opposition.
The context behind Rohl’s response matters, however. McCowan had spoken with genuine confidence after the Stuttgart win, telling Superscoreboard that the performance proved what Celtic are capable of at their best. He said that when Celtic are fully switched on, no team in the league can match them, and urged his teammates to carry that mentality into every game. He also reminded everyone that Celtic remain champions until someone takes the title from them, and that nothing has been lost yet.
The issue is that the reporter who put McCowan’s comments to Rohl apparently did so without providing the full context, leaving the Rangers manager responding to a partial picture. Rohl, it seems, took the bait, and his slightly dismissive response may look a little embarrassing once the full picture of what McCowan actually said is understood.