FOR CELTIC fans who had long-since given up hope of a title party, Tannadice on Thursday was a bit like a birthday everyone had pretended to forget, only for their nearest and dearest to shout surprise and shower them in streamers when the lights went on.
For the players, who claim they had always believed there would be a celebration, it wasn't just the league trophy or the chance to serve up humble pie that they gifted themselves but an automatic place in the Champions League group stages.
"You s
et out to win the league that's the most important thing," said Paul Hartley. "We did that and we made it to the Champions League last 16, so if you can better that, then so much the better. And obviously going right into the group stages is good for everyone."
"I think that's a huge bonus," agreed Gary Caldwell. "The games we had against Spartak were two of the toughest games we had all season so we know how hard it is if you're in the knockout stages. To go straight in is a massive boost and we can prepare for that in the summer without having the worry of qualifying games to play."
For all the Rangers quadruple talk and the plaudits garnered from their progress to the UEFA Cup final, their presence in the competition was due to the fact they fell at an earlier Champions League hurdle than their Old Firm rivals and there is a sense that the Celtic players would rather concentrate on bettering their record in the ultimate European club competition. But while doing that, captain Stephen McManus said it was vital not to forget what really matters to the fans of the Glasgow rivals.
"'I was very aware of the historic element to winning three-in-a-row," he said. "If you've been brought up in the Celtic environment, which I have, you know all about the history of the club and at our club you're always judged on winning trophies, and because we were also knocked out of the Scottish Cup I think there was a bit of extra criticism.
"It was more the comments from some ex-people from our place. It blows you away sometimes, the criticism. But that's football.
"At times we've not played as well as we should but I think over the course of the season we have been the best side. Rangers have had a remarkable season as well and all credit to them. But we can only concentrate on ourselves.
"Over the course of the season we've had the best squad with individual players who have been brilliant. It's different in a cup where you can maybe get a little bit of luck which can turn it but over a lot of games the best team always seems to end up on top."
It took until the final day and, some will say, until Rangers ran out of steam, but they still competed with the best in the Champions League and domestically they picked up more points than anyone else.
"We were written off after the Rangers game at Ibrox because of the games in hand and the advantage they had over us, and then the Motherwell game," said Hartley, who played like a man possessed in the title run-in.
"But we knew if we won our last seven we had a chance – and we showed great spirit and bottle. We played some good football but we won ugly at times as well. The pressure to win every single game was enormous.
"I think this one has been even sweeter than the last one. Last season, when I came in January, the league title was almost wrapped up, but I think this season is a lot sweeter for me.
"I will reflect on it in the next few days but I have really enjoyed this."
The full article contains 663 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
