Celtic's next match is against VfB Stuttgart, as the two teams will play out the second leg of their Europa League play-off tie in Germany. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the Hoops will be able to overturn a three-goal deficit from the first leg, especially away from home.

As a result, a lot of fans seem to be already looking past that matchup. Their focus is on Celtic's trip to Ibrox to take on the Rangers at the start of March.

That game could very well end up playing a major part in this season's Scottish Premiership title race. Both Glasgow giants are trailing Hearts at the moment, something absolutely would have predicted at the start of the campaign.

This is a six-pointer game. And whoever comes out on the losing side, if there is not a draw on the cards, could end up dropping out of the title race for good.

So, Celtic must go and get a result at Ibrox. Unfortunately, their recent record against the Rangers won't fill the fans with confidence.

On the other hand, the Scottish FA have officially announced that John Beaton will be the referee when Celtic meet Rangers at Ibrox on March 1. He will be assisted by David McGeachie and Calum Spence. Steven McLean will be on VAR duty with Kevin Clancy as his assistant.

It would be safe to say that the announcement of Beaton as the referee on the night has not gone down well with Celtic fans.

One Celtic fan wrote on X: "Fun fact: Rangers haven’t lost at Ibrox while Beaton was the ref since 17/18."

One can only hope that there is no controversy regarding the refereeing decisions coming out of the Ibrox match. The best games are those in which the officials have no real impact on the result.

At the end of the day, Celtic have a lot more problems to worry about than the officials. The Hoops' own performance levels over the last several weeks has been nowhere near the mark.

Celtic's last 'good' performance came in the Europa League in last January, when they won 4-2 against Dutch Eredivisie side, FC Utrecht. Since then, the Hoops have won quite a few matches, but none of the performances have been convincing.

Yes, moments of individual brilliance and sheer will got them through the finish line on a number of occasions. But that was never going to be sustainable. To many, the recent defeats have not come as a surprise. Now, it is about how they react to them.

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