The Hampden success is still fresh in the memory and the scenes will be in our heads for years to come. However, that is now by with. Tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of our season. Dundee's poor points tally means we shouldn't have to worry too much about a relegation battle and while the top six is as good as gone, we can still finish a bit higher up in the table - and we have enough games left to even match last season's eighth place. As well as coming with kudos, a higher finishing position would also provide some cash, which could come in handy when strengthening the squad for next season.
That said, it will be rather difficult for us to even get another point on the board before the split. Next week's trips to Kilmarnock and Motherwell will be pretty tough, while tomorrow's home game will be extremely difficult. We've already beaten Celtic once this season, which is a good achievement for us, and to do it twice in the space of three months may be asking a bit much. Thankfully, results before the international break mean Celtic can't officially win the league tomorrow, so we'll be spared a title party on our own patch.
We could, of course, display our own trophy tomorrow. It's traditional for teams to do that in their first home game after picking up some silverware and I see no reason why we shouldn't do that tomorrow, even if we are playing Celtic. They will also be giving us a guard of honour, which would be both amusing and a nice touch. Hopefully the Hampden glory can entice a few more folk to head along to a game before the end of the season as the extra bodies through the gate would help us financially, while boosting the players on the park.
How many of those who started a fortnight ago will be in again tomorrow? There will probably be a few changes as the initial line-up wasn't working particularly well until Danny Lennon made a few tweaks. The fortnight off should have given Jim Goodwin time to get fully fit so we're likely to go with the same defence, while Steven Thompson and Esmael Goncalves will continue together up front. Therefore, the only likely changes are in midfield. Everyone should be available but we also have the likes of Kenny McLean, Dougie Imrie and new signing Sander Puri waiting to come in.
Thompson and Goncalves both came off with injuries at Hampden but they seemed more cramp and tiredness rather than anything serious so there's no reason they shouldn't be able to start tomorrow. Goncalves has two in two against the Hoops, a fairly impressive record, and as he looks almost certain to leave in the summer we need to enjoy watching him strut his stuff at Greenhill Road while we can. He is a very exciting player and a hero - cult and proper after the cup win - and hopefully he can bang in a few more goals before he leaves while learning from Thompson along the way. It's fair to say the move has been good for pretty much everyone involved.
It's hard to know what to make of Celtic this season. In Europe they were terrific, upsetting all the odds to qualify from a tough group and beat Barcelona before succumbing to Juventus. Nothing wrong with that. However, domestically they haven't quite been firing on all cylinders as often as is expected of one of the Old Firm. This may sound strange for a team that should have the SPL wrapped up before the split but they have dropped a ridiculous number of points and had someone been able to keep pace with them - or Rangers been in the league - they would have been in trouble. That said, they are going to win the league but that was the bare minimum Neil Lennon should have been achieving in Scotland this season. The Scottish Cup is still up for grabs but we did at least stop their treble dreams.
This could be the last time we see a few of these Celtic players as they are likely to be plying their trade elsewhere next season. Clubs wanted Gary Hooper in January and his current tally of 25 goals means there is likely to be more interest in him in the summer, which may finally force Celtic's hand. Midfielder Victor Wanyama is another who could be on his way, although the media has possibly been a bit over the top when praising his ability, while Fraser Forster could end up back in England after three years at Parkhead - two of them on loan. You really have to wonder why Newcastle let him go and it's little surprise to see him involved in the England set-up.
Celtic's defence used to be comically bad and while it still isn't perfect, it is good enough to get the job done in the SPL. Admittedly Efe Ambrose and Emilio Izaguirre have tried to disprove that theory of late, the former having a shocker against Juventus while the later gifted us a goal in the Scottish Cup. They are usually fairly reliable so those must just have been blips. Mikael Lustig has had some injury problems but is also decent, while Charlie Mulgrew and Kelvin Wilson have both been mentioned in connection with the player of the year award. Adam Matthews and Thomas Rogne have also been solid enough, with Rami Gershon arriving on loan from Standard Liege in January.
Celtic do have plenty of other players who can hurt us at the other end of the park. Anthony Stokes is now back and scoring as he bids to earn himself a new contract, with Georgios Samaras capable of turning things on when he's in the mood - the song "He scores when he wants" perhaps most appropriate for him. Kris Commons has helped himself to a terrific goal return from midfield this season with James Forrest causing us problems in the Scottish Cup earlier this month. Joe Ledley is also a threat while captain Scott Brown is missing through injury.
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