Hartson sparks the celebrations as Celtic clinch title

Ewan Murray at Celtic Park
Thursday April 6, 2006
The Guardian

A proud Gordon Strachan last night admitted his overwhelming sense of personal delight after Celtic secured the title with this narrow win. "I'd like to get home and sit down and let it sink in," said Strachan, who revealed that as a means of inspiration he has left his wristwatch set at 11.10pm - the moment in time when the despair fully hit home after the embarrassing defeat to Artmedia Bratislava in his first match in charge.

"I've now had the honour to stand in the middle of the pitch as the manager of the champions and that was emotional. We make no claims about being a great football side but people can't take away the fact we are 20 points in front at the top of the league and want to get better and better. I can't believe it. As Celtic manager you can make millions of people happy and it's a great thing to be able to do."

The margin of this title victory, which arrived courtesy of a solitary goal from John Hartson, may yet change but Strachan's side have secured the trophy with six games to play; an impressive statistic in one of Scottish football's more unpredictable seasons.

It was fitting Celtic should seal the trophy against Hearts, given the previous meeting between the sides, in which Strachan's side staged a late fightback to win 3-2, and which has come to be regarded as the turning point in this league season. Their task last night, to submit a final blow to the hopes of their nearest challengers, was seen as more simple.

Hartson paid tribute to the Celtic supporters while admitting he may yet leave the club in the summer. "They've been amazing to me since day one, they've been behind me through some difficult times. I can't speak highly enough of them," he said. "I'm pleased, not only for the people here tonight, but for the Celtic supporters watching all over the world. It's a phenomenal club with magnificent supporters. To win the league by such a big margin is a great achievement for everybody. I have a few big decisions to make in the summer but it would be a massive wrench to leave this club."

The Welshman half-volleyed the game's only goal past Craig Gordon, straight from the goalkeeper Artur Boruc's kick-out after just four minutes. It was the perfect way for Hartson to celebrate his 31st birthday but a rare mistake from Gordon, who should have done better with the shot from fully 25 yards.

Boruc saved well from Roman Bednar nine minutes later and though the home support were rejoicing in title-winning verse long before half-time, Hearts enjoyed by far the better of the opening 45 minutes.

The key difference between these teams since that memorable last meeting has been their form away from home and the Celtic players headed for the dressing room at the interval perhaps sensing they had braved the worst of what Vladimir Romanov's richly assembled side had to offer. Hearts had the ball in the net four minutes after the restart, only for Andy Webster's close-range effort to be ruled out through offside. Their interim manager Valdas Ivanauskas cut a furious figure on the touchline but the assistant referee Neil Brand's decision appeared correct.

The manner of Celtic's win will not go down in the annals of the club's history but their manager, who has now won two trophies during his debut season in the SPL and in doing so won over even the more sceptical of the Parkhead fans, has ensured he will.

"At the start of the season, the press and fans were saying the manager should get the sack but the way he has turned things around has been fantastic," said Celtic's full-back Mark Wilson, who Strachan signed from Dundee United in January.

Taken from the Guardian/Observer