Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

First of all, you could make sure you have players in your squad who are unsuitable for international football on the basis that they couldn't kick doors at Halloween and would be of no worth whatsoever to the national side of any self-respecting country.

In that way any club manager would automatically be spared the inconvenience of having his players go off here, there and everywhere for World Cup qualifying ties before domestic football resumes afterwards.

This would no doubt result in a failure to successfully defend any title won but it would create windows of opportunity for proper rest in between matches.

It would also be an idea not to emerge from the qualifying rounds of the Champions League and find yourselves landed with the additional fixtures in the group stages of the competition which can throw up periodic problems when, for instance, they happen to fall in the days leading up to a semi-final at Hampden.

Failure to qualify for Europe's most prestigious club tournament would of course mean denying yourself something in the region of £30m worth of additional revenue.

But it wouldn't half free up time for a tilt at the penultimate stage of the Betfred Cup.

I shall now remove my tongue from my cheek and let realism replace sarcasm.

In the modern day game of football being successful means having to endure an admittedly punishing schedule of fixtures. That is the price of success and sometimes makes you the victim of your own success.

Such is life for Celtic this week, when Brendan Rodgers' side will be obliged to face Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena and then, some sixty hours later, take on Hibs at Hampden in the Cup semi-final.

The schedule is an onerous one, but Celtic's history under Rodgers' management so far shows that the team has never lost the domestic match which has come immediately after a European assignment, no matter the distance which has had to be travelled or the result which has been achieved, or suffered, against continental opposition.

That statistic has probably been achieved on the back of Celtic having the good fortune to be in a position where they have two players for every outfield position and, if Saturday's win over Dundee was any guide, in goal as well.

It is also a fact that commercial considerations have seen to it that Celtic kick off at 12.15pm on Saturday.

The television company who hold the rights to live coverage of the match, BT, want it that way and what television wants, television gets within the framework of the 21st century game.

A Sunday setting, such as the one Motherwell and Rangers will enjoy in the other semi-final, would be preferable for Celtic, and provide a fairer crack of the whip without doubt.

But it wasn't the SPFL who decided things had to be this way. It was that guy over there, the one signing the cheque for the money which will be divided among the competing clubs.

Celtic's manager perceives it all to be a state of affairs where common sense has taken the day off and he is one hundred per cent correct.

But, being a Celtic supporter from childhood in Ireland, Brendan will also know that perceived injustice has in the past helped inspire the club to peaks of performance thought unlikely under testing circumstances.

The Celtic support loves nothing better than nursing a sense of grievance going into a major match such as Saturday at Hampden and then revelling in the joy of having triumphed in the face of adversity created by those who had put obstacles in their way.

The match schedulers might have put a spring in Celtic's step this weekend rather than put a burden on their back.

But Rodgers has to first of all make sure his Celtic side look after their own well being under trying conditions.

Nobody in their right mind would think Celtic are going to Munich looking to win the game against Jupp Heynckes' side on Wednesday night.

It might be Celtic and they might be The Invincibles on their own patch, but cold, calculating odds compilers working on behalf of the betting industry will give you 33/1 on Celtic proving the existence of miracles in Germany.

It is the extent to which Celtic are obliged to chase shadows in the Allianz Arena which will determine how tired they are by the time the team bus enters the bowels of the earth inside Hampden on Saturday morning.

That is the harsh reality of the matter and that's why big squads are there to be utilised as well.

Celtic can, to an extent, have a say on how tough their preparation is for the semi-final. It is a variation on the theme of fail to prepare, prepare to fail

• Hugh Keevins