WHEN do teams earn more than the regular three points for a league win? When the victory comes against Celtic and Rangers.
That has always been the way, no matter what state either giant of Scottish football find themselves in, and it remains so now. Steve Clarke knows this. It is just he is too smart to say so.
Kilmarnock’s record against Celtic, who they face today, is superb under Clarke and includes a win at Rugby Park this season.
The champions did beat Kilmarnock 5-1 when the men from Ayrshire were top of the league. That result however, was some way from the norm. Indeed, it was the first time Brendan Rodgers had beaten Clarke in Scotland.
Kilmarnock have not only beaten their friends from up the road in Glasgow, they have on occasion played them off the park. That is not unimportant.
“I take as much pride that we compete with all the other teams in the league,” said Clarke. “You can’t isolate any group of clubs and say it is more important against them than anyone else. If we beat Celtic we get the same points if we beat Hibs, Hearts or Aberdeen.
“I think the Old Firm victories resonate more with the fans more than the players. They maybe see it as vindication for supporting a smaller club that you can turn over the big guns. It is a big game for us of course, and everyone enjoys but it is still the same three points you get.”
Kilmarnock have no fear when playing the bigger names, which is so refreshing. It is a big reason why they have taken points from all the top-six teams this season and last, and sit high up in the league with a chance of Europe and a Scottish Cup replay against Rangers on Wednesday night. A win takes them into the quarter-finals.
But Clarke is still not shouting from the rooftops about how this season has gone and is going.
“The target for us was to stay in the division and we have done that,” he said with a face you would never dare sit across a poke table from. “The secondary objective was to get back-to-back top-six finishes and that is the next target. Once we secure that, then we will look at any other possible outcomes, but we have to achieve that first.
“No one here spoke about titles or title challenges. We are realistic here and we understand what we can and can’t do. The game there was a disappointment for us but sometimes in a long season you get disappointments and it is how you bounce back from that.
“We have managed to do that very well. We aim to be more competitive in this game than we were in the last one against them.
“Our home form has been good. We made a big effort to improve ourselves here, it took us some time but we have gradually got there. But our form away from home is pretty decent as well and it holds up against most teams in the league.
“We have to find a consistency. People are probably saying ‘change the record’ but that is so important. You have seen over the last 15 or 16 months the results will follow if we do that.”
Celtic were given a sobering lesson in passing and possession by Valencia on Thursday night. Today will show whether such a going over has had any lasting effect.
Clarke did not read too much into the 2-0 win for the Spaniards in terms of this afternoon’s fixture.
He said: “If you follow European football you know Valencia are a tough team to play against. I thought the first 25 minutes or so were good. Celtic started brightly and tried to get at them, but Valencia held their shape well and started to show a threat going forward.
“The goal before half time was a killer and made the second half more difficult for Celtic. But Celtic are a top team and they set the standard in Scotland.
“It would be wrong of me to talk them down and say they made mistakes. We respect Celtic and they have been the standard here for a number of years and teams need to work hard to close that gap. I think the gap is closing between Celtic and the rest, even in the short time I have been here. That has made it a more interesting league this year, but Celtic are still the benchmark.”
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