MAKE that 52. Fifty-two league titles for Celtic... and counting.
You get the feeling that Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has only just started with his men.
Yet, for a while, it felt like a touch of deja-vu for the Hoops. Just as Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink headed the winner that clinched the league flag at Tannadice in 2008 Giorgos Giakoumakis looked to have repeated the trick 14 years later.
The Greek striker headed his 15th goal of the season as Celtic drew 1-1 in Dundee and were crowned Scottish Premiership champions. Even Dylan Levitt's wonder strike after 72 minutes couldn't take the gloss and shine off the end result for Postecoglou as his side finally breached the finish tape on Tayside.
A solitary point ironically was all that was required for the league flag to be flying above Paradise once again though.
The travelling 5,000 strong green and white army were there to cheer their heroes over the line.
Celtic arrived on Tayside chasing their 10th Scottish Premiership title in 11 seasons and left 31 games unbeaten, the club's longest undefeated streak since Brendan Rodgers.
Postcoglou rotated his side big time from the one that comprehensively defeated Hearts 4-1 at Celtic Park last Saturday with the Aussie making no fewer than four changes to the starting line-up.
Reo Hatate, Liel Abada, James Forrest and Giorgos Giakoumakis all came in for David Turnbull, Jota, Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi.
In fact from the Celtic side that drew 0-0 at Tannadice last March - which saw them toppled from their perch at the top of Scottish football's tree - only captain Callum McGregor started both matches. That little bit of information alone served as a timely reminder of the scale of Postecoglou's revolution this season in itself.
It was a pedestrian and mundane first half with no real clear-cut chances created for either side and it was no surprise that the scoreline remained blank at the interval as Postecoglou cut a frustrating figure on the sidelines.
It took all of eight minutes after the restart for the champions to click into gear when Anthony Ralston dug out a cross from the right and Giakoumakis emphatically buried a six-yard header beyond Benjamin Siegrist in the Dundee United goal. Levitt, however, then hit a beauty into the corner from 25 yards while the hosts also struck the woodwork twice.
READ MORE: Why Giakoumakis and Postecoglou have joined likes of Burns and McNeill in special roll of honour
In the grand scheme of things, it didn't really matter as Celtic would still be crowned champions if the scoreline stayed the same. It did. They had won the league again - time to fly the flag.
When Celtic defeated Rangers 3-0 back in February the Aussie uttered these prophetic words: “We’re upholding the values of this football club, not just in terms of winning but the way we play our football. I want them to be proud of us.
“As I said to the players, we had 60,000 in tonight and I’m sure a lot of them walked in with some problems in their life. For these 95 minutes, we made them forget that and feel good and that’s something special.”He was at it again at Tannadice and his voice cracked with emotion as he said: "I’ve had this lifelong dream to manage a world-famous club, trying to make an impact. I’m in this spot now of achieving something I’ve always wanted to achieve."
It was delivered with the gravitas and aura of a manager in the Jock Stein, Martin O'Neill or Rodgers ilk. It was statesmanlike.
The words were worthy of a man holding a managerial position which to the Celtic supporters is the highest possible football office.
Throughout the whole campaign, Postecoglou has made the Celtic supporters forget all about the debacle of last season and gave them something very special indeed.
📖 Celtic won their 32nd, 42nd & 52nd league titles at Tannadice...
— Sean Martin (@seanmartinTCW) May 12, 2022
🏆 1981: 3-2, Tommy Burns winner
🏆 2008: 1-0, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink winner
🏆 2022: 1-1, Giorgos Giakoumakis clincher
The Aussie has totally transformed a team that finished a massive 25 points behind Rangers as Celtic's 10-in-a-row hopes disappeared with a whimper at, of all places, Tannadice against Dundee United.
The unbelievable fairytale ending happened this time around complete with a £40million title wrapped in a green and white bow. It will almost certainly rank as the most unlikely, but ultimately one of the sweetest and best, in the club's illustrious 134-year history.
It is a success that will now see Celtic once again dining out at the top table of Europe's elite clubs next season. That is an arena where the Aussie is desperate to make his mark with Celtic.
As Postecoglou said: “That’s the exciting bit for me. That’s what keeps me motivated. You’ve climbed the mountain, you’re at the top and you look over and there’s a bigger mountain down the road. You think you wouldn’t mind having a crack at that. That’ll be us next year.”
Not bad for a guy who was supposed to be gone by Christmas. Not bad for a guy who arrived alone in this country. Not bad for a supposed rebuild season.
Celtic didn't just hire a football manager last June, they hired a custodian.
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