Celtic have been the undisputed champions of Scotland for over nine years now and no one can doubt their credentials, given their absolute dominance in the domestic scene.
This season was somewhat different, owing to the sudden COVID-19 outbreak which brought football action around the world to an abrupt halt.
While countries such as Germany, England, Spain, Italy and Denmark are scheduled to resume later next month, no such thing happened in Scotland, with the Scottish FA ruling in favour of ending the season and declaring Celtic, who were 13 points clear at the top of the table, the Scottish Premiership champions for the ninth time in a row.
This meant that bottom side Heart of Midlothian were relegated to the Championship, and in spite of Rangers asking for an independent inquiry into SPFL’s handling of the season in the wake of the pandemic, most clubs admitted that Celtic deserved to be the champions yet again.
So what was so special about Celtic’s ninth successive title win? Where does it rank among their other wins? Let us get into the details.
Maintaing domestic supremacy despite Rangers’ resurgence under Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard took charge of Rangers in the summer of 2018, his first senior managerial appointment. Although the Liverpool legend is yet to guide the Gers to any silverware, his side showed signs of promise during the initial stages the season.
There was one point when after beating Celtic 2-1 in the last match of 2019, Rangers managed to cut the gap down to just two at the top of the table with a game in hand.
Gerrard’s team have also shown promise in Europe this season, with the Gers managing to reach the Round of 16 of the Europa League, while their Glasgow rivals were ousted from the Round of 32 stage.
However, Celtic boss Neil Lennon has gone about his business in an expert-like manner. He did not allow anything around him to disturb his focus, continuing to work with his team and keeping them motivated to achieve their goal of winning everything at the domestic level.
Celtic also enjoyed a decent record against Rangers, despite the Ibrox outfit’s rise under Gerrard. Although Rangers won the last Old Firm derby, Celtic managed to win the first two high-voltage derbies of the season – one of them being in the Scottish League Cup final where they beat Gerrard’s side 1-0 to win their first silverware of the season.
The benefits of the warm weather training camp in Dubai
Celtic star Nir Bitton in an interview with Celtic View stressed the importance of their warm weather training camp in Dubai back in January.
“Since we came back from Dubai we’ve been on an unbelievable run and we had an amazing form”
The benefits have been clearly visible in the way Celtic have come back to win 12 of their 15 matches and in the process, developed a 13-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table when the season was brought to a halt.
Celtic’s ability to bounce back quickly
Celtic lost just two matches over the course of the entire season, the first one against Livingston in early October, following which they won 11 in a row. Their second Scottish Premiership loss of the season came against Rangers, post which they registered eight wins on the bounce.
The statistics are proof enough of the grit that has been a constant feature of Neil Lennon’s side over the course of the season.
Scott Brown proving his worth yet again
Ever since joining the Bhoys back in 2007, Scott Brown has continued to prove his importance to the team, and this season was no different. His leadership qualities have been praised by his team-mates and experts alike.
In spite of going through tough phases over the course of the season, the 34-year-old has helped maintain calm on the pitch, thus allowing his team-mates to play freely around him.
While the ending wasn’t something that the players had expected, with Brown taking time to insist that winning the title this way is hard for the fans and the players, there is no denying the fact that Celtic absolutely deserved it.
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