It is undeniable that Celtic are in the midst of a title race. Not much currently separates The Bhoys and their closest challengers at the top of the table.
Although things are tight now, Celtic did lead by seven points earlier in the campaign. Their diminished lead has frustrated many, but it is the reality of the team’s form and poor performances.
Particularly over the past few weeks, Brendan Rodgers’ men are just getting over the line. However, the injuries and players they have unavailable can take some flack away from this.
One of those players who was recently ineligible is winger Daizen Maeda. The mercurial wide-man was away with Japan at the Asian Cup and returned at the beginning of this week after the Samurai Blue were knocked out by Iran.
He was thrown straight back into things against Hibs midweek and after returning, Maeda has made a bold statement regarding the title race.
The 26-year-old believes that Celtic have a better squad than their city rivals and that they will go on to win the league: “Getting results through this tough period will give us more confidence and we will eventually be champions at the end”, he said (RecordSport).
“Do we have a stronger squad than Rangers? Yes, if you look at the table, we’re currently above them.
“I feel we are a stronger team. However, we can’t be comfortable thinking we’ll win without doing anything.”
Maeda has been over the course twice as a Celt, winning back-to-back titles under Ange Postecoglou. He seems convinced he will make it a hat-trick, but the ex-Yokohama F. Marinos man understands that it won’t happen without any effort or hard graft.
