Old Firm: When Six Straight Wins Can't Cool the Hot Seat

The clock at Celtic Park had already passed the ninetieth minute, the score was 2-0 for the home side. But what I remember most is not the goal, but the whistling. About three hundred fans behind the goal turned their backs on the technical area as the manager walked off the track. They booed the very team that had just won their sixth consecutive league game. Six games, eighteen points, top of the table with an eight-point lead. Yet the atmosphere was as heavy as a funeral. I stood there, taking notes, and asked myself: how insane has modern football become when victory turns into a crime? When the lights go out, I find the hero where no one is looking. The backdrop of the story is this weekend's Old Firm derby. Celtic, leaders of the Scottish Premiership, will host Rangers at home. Seven days earlier, the two sides had met in the national cup, and Celtic lost. Days before that, they also lost a Europa League match. Three games, two defeats, the rest a league win. But in a league where ruthlessness reigns, people only remember those two losses. Rangers sit second, eight points behind. If Celtic win, the gap becomes eleven points, effectively ending the title race. If they lose, it is only five points, and history will record Rangers winning a third consecutive derby against their city rivals—something that has not happened since 2026. That is why this match is called a 'six-pointer' even though the season has just begun. The Old Firm is not just a football match. It is where religion, politics, and local pride are mixed together. In Vietnam, the derbies between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are slowly taking on that color, but no one dares to admit it. I have spent seven years watching elite football, and I have learned a rule: results are king, but narrative is the lord. Celtic have the best results in the league, but the story being told by the media and fans is one of unease. The manager is criticized for a 'passive defensive style'. They say his team wins thanks to individual moments, thanks to the brilliance of certain players, not because of a clear system. They compare him to the big European clubs where victory must come with dominance. That is an utterly absurd double standard. Look at the data: six consecutive wins, eighteen maximum points, the best goal difference in the league. No team can achieve that without some tactical foundation. But people do not want to hear that. They want something more dramatic, a twist. And the twist here is: if Celtic lose this derby, they will suffer a third straight defeat across all competitions. In those six wins, Celtic kept only two clean sheets, and in five of the six they scored in the second half. That shows the team does not start fast, relying on substitutions and flashes of brilliance. That is not necessarily bad, but it does not fit the image of a dominant big club. The betting market still makes Celtic the favorite, but the market has no emotions. It only reflects probability. Meanwhile, the media is playing a different game: they create a negative feedback loop where every manager comment is scrutinized, every team selection dissected, and every draw treated as a disaster. I once saw a V.League manager lose his job after winning five straight games simply because his style was deemed unattractive. That is when I realized: modern football is no longer a game on the pitch, but a battle of stories. And in that battle, Celtic are losing. The more their manager tries to defend the view that 'the game matters whether it is played in September or March', the more he is seen as evasive. He talks about responsibility, says everyone has the right to ask questions, but the way he answers creates even more questions. Meanwhile, the Rangers manager does the complete opposite: he downplays tactics, saying 'tactics tend to be overplayed, you win games through individual moments'. That is a classic underdog psychological ploy. Imagine a challenger saying before the match that he does not care about systems, he just needs his players to give everything. That puts enormous pressure on the favorite, because if the favorite wins, they are merely doing what was expected. But if they lose, they lose to a team that allegedly did not even need a plan. That is the trap Celtic are standing in. Now, let me argue against everything I just said. I believe Celtic will win this match. And I say that not because they are the better team, but because the very pressure that is supposed to kill them will save them. When a team is pushed to the wall, they often play with different energy. I saw that at the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, when Carlos Queiroz's Iran were criticized for their defensive style after a loss to Spain. In their final group game, they faced Portugal. Everyone expected a heavy defeat. They played terrible football, but they drew 1-1 and nearly caused an upset. Queiroz's tactics were not clever, but the spirit of his players overcame everything. Rangers may have the psychological edge, but that is a double-edged sword. Think about it: if Rangers lose, nobody blames them. But if Celtic lose, the manager will be hanged. That asymmetry forces the green side to play at 150%, while the white side can comfortably enjoy the game. Who wins a match where one side is more afraid of losing than eager to win? The answer lies in how the Celtic manager turns the story around. If he dares to take risks, push the line high, attack from the start, he wins not only on the scoreboard but also in the media war. If he continues with his safe approach, even a win will leave him defeated in the court of public opinion. I have said it: in an empty stadium, the market speaks louder than the roar. The market does not care about beautiful football; it only cares about results. But that result, in this case, will mean nothing if it is not accompanied by a message. And the message Celtic need to send is: we are not afraid. On Saturday night, I will sit in front of the screen, watching this match with a can of coffee and a notebook. I will not bet, because I know football never follows logic. But I will pose a big question to all those running football in Vietnam: are you building a culture that evaluates managers on sustainable results, or are you still driven by the fleeting anger of public opinion? Look at Celtic: the league leaders are treated like failures. If that happens in Vietnam, will we have the backbone to hold our ground? I bet myself that the hottest twist is the truth: victory in the end is all that matters. And when the stadium lights go out, only the scoreboard remains on the screen. All the criticism, all the analysis, all the stories will disappear. Only the numbers remain. Remember, in Scotland, a manager was once sacked even though the team won the European Cup. In Vietnam, we should not repeat that mistake just because of a few hot posts on social media.