WE WERE only two days into 2025 when the alarm bells shrieking at Celtic.

Or 39 hours and six minutes if you wish to be pedantic.

The 3pm kick-off at Ibrox on January 2 had barely started when Kasper Schmeichel allowed a low drive from Ianus Hagi to elude him at his left hand and the hosts celebrated their first goal of the New Year.

My old and much-missed friend Billy McNeill always insisted the best time to score a goal was late in a game when it left your opponents with limited time to respond.

It stands to reason, then, that the worst time to register a strike was in the opening minute when your rivals were afforded almost all of the encounter to get back into it.

However, Celtic fans who sat back and waited for the champions to roll up their sleeves and retaliate that chilly winter’s afternoon in the south side of Glasgow were to be sorely disappointed.

A feeble performance from their favourites saw Philippe Clement crack a rare smile as his team coasted to a 3-0 victory in a one-sided confrontation which also saw them strike the woodwork twice.

I stuck the headline...