Hail Hail the heroes – and the birth of a Celtic great

Celtic 3-2 Rangers

Cometh the hour, cometh the man they say and today saw the emergence of a player with the mark of greatness.

No, not Scott McDonald this time, though his two goals took him close to being the first man since Stevie Chalmers to score three goals against Rangers.

No, it was the moment that McDonald declined – when, rather than pursue that goal, a Celtic penalty was awarded and up stepped Barry Robson to assume the responsibility of salvaging Celtic’s season.

Robson, remember, started this season at Dundee United, played much of his career Inverness Caledonian Thistle and started off at another smaller club, Glasgow Rangers.

No-one should underestimate the determination, the raw courage and the utter professionalism of Robson in assuming the task. But it was only the culmination of a lion-hearted performance from the midfielder. His passing, running and energy ensured that Rangers had a torrid afternoon.

But his ability to take hold of the match – to refuse to lose the ball – was reminiscent of a Celtic legend, Roy Atiken. Robson is a far better footballer than the Bear but showed that he has everything needed to ascend to greatness for Celtic.

Scott Brown’s day will come. Right now he has the ultimate role model.