I have a message the Celtic support is not going to like … your club is fighting for second place in the SPL!

I’ve not seen hysteria like that surrounding Robbie Keane’s loan signing since Craig Bellamy landed at Parkhead in January, 2005.

The same wild proclamations that Celtic had the title ‘in the bag’, back then, were evident once more this week as ‘Keano’ held up the magical No.7 in front of the faithful in the east end of Glasgow late on Monday night.

We’ve had fans drooling on our Superscoreboard programme at his arrival, but their opinion that Celtic will win every game, beat Rangers twice and lift the trophy in May, defies all logic associated with Tony Mowbray’s team’s performances.

Celtic can’t beat sides at the bottom of the SPL, never mind the top.

There is a real danger of losing sight of the clever operation going on in the background to try and keep the number-crunching money machine that is Celtic moving along year in, year out.

First of all, let me say well done to chief executive, Peter Lawwell and the powers that be, for surprising everyone with the deadline-day signing coup of Keane.

Unfortunately, money men can’t score goals and it was always going to be difficult for the star man from the Republic to slot straight in and win the game on his own in a disjointed team. Credit to him, he did try.

Don’t let anyone fool you about the outlay in this window. Celtic made money or, at the very least, balanced the books, from the outgoing and the incoming players.

Nothing wrong with that plan in the current climate, but my gripe with the way this team has been assembled has always been the fragmented and, at times, panic stricken last-minute attempts to put the jigsaw together.

Keane’s signing is a masterstroke in marketing; he’ll shift strips, put bums on seats – no mean feat given the thousands of fans who were turning their back on the club – and he’ll also make a difference when he settles, but will Celtic be champions? No.

Players take time to settle in, to get to know their team-mates’ style and execute the manager’s instructions.

It is ignorant and disrespectful to other teams to suggest that every new player at the club will immediately hit top form and sweep aside all before them. Certainly not with the defence Celtic have.

The boss has been given the money to bring in new faces and it is almost his team on the park now. But no sensible person should be asking for Mowbray to be removed just yet.

However, the ‘Keane factor’ will quickly disappear should his side lose to Dunfermline in the cup on Sunday, and, dare I say it, fail to win every game until the end of the season.

If the Hoops crash out of the last competition they can win and fall further behind in the league, the fans will make their feelings known by not turning up and spending their cash.

And if that happens, the board will sacrifice Mowbray before they take any flak.

At the tail end of last year, I had the privilege of being in Kevin Keegan’s company listening to tales of his exper-iences in management.

He mentioned that talk of a long-term plan at big clubs is a load of old cobblers.

Yes, you can have a long-term plan, but if the short-term one is floundering, you lose your job.

Let’s see who flinches first in the run-in – the manager, the fans or the board?

JT still has a big role to play

I am gobsmacked at the furore over John Terry’s alleged extra-curricular activities and the calls for him to be stripped of the England captaincy.

The captain of England should be whiter than white and a shining example to all? What a load of bull!

Who in their right mind believes footballers are role models? Kids do idolise players, but only because of their skills.

Fabio Capello’s men could possibly win the World Cup in South Africa in the summer, but angels they certainly are not.

The bits we know about the top players are not half as ‘scandalous’ as the bits they keep out of the papers.

The bigger dilemma for Capello is not who leads the team out; it is whether the squad can fly to South Africa with Terry and Wayne Bridge on the same plane!

Smith’s success shows his savvy

There’s one stark difference between Rangers and Celtic that was abundantly clear in last night’s 2-0 Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final win over St Johnstone.

Every player in the team, regardless of ability, has a role to play, a job to do and they are organised. They know what they are doing.

Score first, keep it tight, protect the lead and nick another goal, if at all possible.

Some do it better than others and, if your name is Steven Davis, you’re doing it better than most on a regular basis.

The Northern Irishman is driving Rangers on from the middle of the park and I am struggling to think of anyone more consistent than him in the SPL at this moment.

They may be skint, but the treble is on for the Ibrox side and the experienced lads in the team, I am told, are making sure no-one in the squad is celebrating another title just yet.

Can you see Rangers letting a 10-point lead slip? I can’t.

I did notice, however, despite everything seemingly being rosy on the pitch, Walter Smith has continued his doomsday warning if a buyer is not found sooner rather than later.

You can get away with Pedro Mendes being sold and the money being gobbled up by the bank when you are winning and out in front.

Rangers know how to control dissent, anger or mutiny in the camp or from the stands.

Their rivals across the city would do well to try and copy their style.

The reality of the situation at Ibrox is that there is still no buyer.

Unless there is someone coming forward with big money to wipe out the debt and invest, then difficult times are ahead in the summer with no Walter to save the team next season.