Celtic’s defeat against the Rangers was a huge disappointment, as it always is. But even more disappointing was the manner of their loss. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side had played 120 minutes in midweek while the Hoops had enjoyed a week off. Yet, Ange Postecoglou’s team looked significantly more tired than their opponents on the day. The fact that it was the Scottish Cup semi-final comes as an added blow and ends their hopes of a treble.

Celtic do not have a lot of time to reflect upon and brood over this defeat though as there is still a lot to play for this season, namely, the Premiership title.

There are five more games to go in the league, including a Glasgow Derby at Parkhead. Postecoglou’s side have a 6-point lead at the moment and are enjoying a better goal difference as well.

Celtic must use this defeat at the hands of the Rangers as a launching pad to success though. If they are able to win the Premiership title, they will be the ones having the last laugh. And Postecoglou has challenged the players to use this disappointment as fuel for the upcoming games. As reported by The Herald, the manager said:

“We have had to be resilient all year and this is another challenge for us.

“We are disappointed we didn’t get to another final, we are disappointed for our fans. But irrespective of what happened today we have five games to concentrate on winning the league, starting next week.

“We need to make sure that we use this disappointment to fuel our endeavours in this next series of games.”

What lies ahead of Celtic in the Premiership?

Celtic have five more games to go in the Scottish Premiership. The next one is an away trip to Ross County, before a Glasgow Derby at home. Then Postecoglou’s side welcome Hearts to Parkhead, travel away to dace Dundee United and then finish the season at home against Motherwell.

It is safe to say that the league is far from over and there are some tough games ahead. There is a lot of work left to be done on the part of Celtic but they are definitely in the driver’s seat, all things considered.

Yes, losing the chance to win another treble, when they were leading until the 78th minute, is a bitter pill to swallow. But when you look at the bigger picture, this side has done much better than anybody would have expected coming into the season.

This article was originally posted here