WITH Rangers bidding to win a record-breaking tenth consecutive Scottish title, the final day Premier Division triumph that Celtic recorded back in 1998 was massively important to the Parkhead club.
Yet, the League Cup victory that Wim Jansen’s side savoured earlier that season was every bit as significant.
Would Jonathan Gould, Enrico Annoni, Stephane Mahe, Marc Reiper, Alan Stubbs, Craig Burley, Regi Blinker, Harald Brattbakk and Henrik Larsson have gone on to be crowned champions without lifting the first trophy of the season?
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Murdo MacLeod, who was Jansen’s assistant manager during that landmark campaign, certainly feels the 3-0 win over Dundee United at Ibrox in November was instrumental in the success which Celtic subsequently enjoyed.
MacLeod believes that result shows that Rangers can, despite not winning a major piece of silverware in over eight years, prevail against their city rivals in the Betfred Cup final on Sunday and then use the confidence they gain to pip them to the Ladbrokes Premiership come May.
“I don’t know what players had won before they arrived at Celtic,” he said. “But that League Cup win gave them a massive boost and it gave the whole club a massive boost. The players and the supporters now knew they were winners. They had gone through a tournament and won a cup. There’s nothing better.
“Wim being the gaffer, he knew he had a team that could win things. There was a good mentality about the team. I think that helped us go on further again. The boys knew they could win a trophy and that they could go on and win the league. That was our target the whole way through.”
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At the same time, MacLeod, the former Celtic, Borussia Dortmund, Hibernian and Scotland midfielder, feels that being beaten in the second Glasgow derby of the 2019/20 campaign would be a savage blow to Steven Gerrard and his players and would damage their hopes of lifting the Premiership trophy.
“It would put pressure on them,” he said. “And it would take pressure off Celtic. If someone is chapping at your door and trying to get by you but if Celtic go on and win the cup it would be a massive boost for them. Everyone is talking about a challenge this season. Nobody spoke about last year being a challenge. Everyone thinks this is the year for the challenge.
“It was the same when Wim and I were at Celtic. There was only one thing – stopping 10-in-a-row. All the players knew about it. Some maybe didn’t when they arrived but the soon were told. Within days it was spoken about, that we had to keep a high standard if we were going to beat Rangers.”
MacLeod believes Celtic are a better team than Rangers and will win at Hampden this weekend if they play to their best – and then go on and win the league for the ninth successive season.
“If both of them play as well as they can then Celtic have the better squad,” he said. “If Celtic play I think they will win the cup and go on and win the league this season. It’s up to Rangers to lift their standards and be at a good standard all the time.
“It would put pressure on them. And it would take pressure off Celtic. If someone is chapping at your door and trying to get by you but if Celtic go on and win the cup it would be a massive boost for them. Everyone is talking about a challenge this season. Nobody spoke about last year being a challenge. Everyone thinks this is the year for the challenge.”
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But MacLeod, a member of the Celtic team which beat Rangers in a final day title decider at Parkhead back in 1979 to ensure their opponents didn’t win back-to-back trebles, doesn’t reckon their lack of recent success will prevent James Tavernier and his team mates from coming out on top.
“Most of the players in the Rangers team won’t bother about the fact that Celtic have won three trebles in a row,” he said. “It won’t even come into the equation for them. It’ll all be about what happens between the teams on Sunday.
“They don’t need to concern themselves with recent history – if you’re a new player, all you’ll be concerned about will be winning that cup and that will be the only thought in their head.
“For the ones who’ve never won anything before, this is a great opportunity and that should give them a huge boost because, if that chances comes along, you need to take it. If you don’t then you’re letting yourself down.
“If you’ve never won anything before then now you have an opportunity that will give them a massive boost. If someone gives you that chance you’ve got to take it. If you don’t you’re letting yourselves down.
“There was nothing in my head about Rangers having won the treble the season before and they were on course to do it again. My thoughts were all about us winning the league that year. To go down to the last game of the season against that Rangers side and stop them doing it was a great achievement.”
Murdo MacLeod was speaking at a media day as Five Star Events and 1st Star Events donated £10,000 to Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity from funds raised at their respective 2019 sporting events.
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