It will be a long, long time before any Scottish football fans looks down their nose at their team beating the third best team in Holland.
Finishing third behind Ajax and PSV Eindhoven is no mean achievement- unless you are the golf and Scottish football correspondent of The Guardian.
To be fair Ewan Murray never disguises that he is anything other than a Hearts supporter. But three days after watching his side crushed by Celtic he was unable to deliver a detached, professional assessment of another impressive win for the hoops.
Celtic have improved quickly and have momentum. But.. also a wage bill of circa £50m.. victory over the third best team in The Netherlands is now portrayed as seismic as they chase the Europa League.
— Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) August 18, 2021
“Moron” .. an appropriate response to a comment about relative football progress? When your team has won? I don’t think social media is for you.
— Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) August 18, 2021
Dutch football is something that the Scottish game can realistically aspire towards. Bordered by one of the giants of the game they continue to produce their own players while scouting globally to bring in players who move on to the nearby richer leagues.
No Celtic fan is claiming that their side is the finished article, the tie against AZ Alkmaar is far from finished but they recognise progress and a new dynamic in the side being shaped by Ange Postecoglou.
As well as the weekend Premier Sports Cup win over Hearts Celtic also beat the Edinburgh side in the final of the 2019 and 2020 Scottish Cup.
If Celtic get past Alkmaar to reach the group stage of the Europa League Murray is likely to be enjoying the media facilities of Celtic Park to share his views with the readership of the Guardian.