Celtic chase new records after sixth consecutive Premiership title
Sunday 2 April 2017 16:51, UK
With their latest Scottish Premiership title success now secure, all that remains to be seen is how many records Celtic will break in the process.
Brendan Rodgers' side have claimed the title seven weeks before the 2016/17 term ends thanks to their emphatic defeat of Hearts.
Having never won silverware before his move to Glasgow, Rodgers now has two trophies on his CV following Celtic's 3-0 win over Aberdeen in the League Cup final last November.
A treble might well be on if they can get past Old Firm rivals Rangers in the last four of the Scottish Cup - but what other landmarks might they surpass?
Already done
In the former SPL era, Celtic twice won the title with six matches remaining.
After securing their 39th league win with a 1-0 victory at Kilmarnock on April 18, 2004, they went even earlier with number 40 on April 5, 2006, with victory over Hearts.
This time they have taken the honours on April 2 with eight games to play, having been top of the table ever since their 4-1 win against Aberdeen on August 27.
Along the way, they have surpassed the best unbeaten run enjoyed by the club's most revered team - the Lisbon Lions.
Celtic's European Cup-winning side went 26 matches without losing against Scottish sides from the start of 1966/67, a campaign which finished with their famous 2-1 win over Inter Milan.
The current crop have gone 37 games unbeaten in all domestic competitions since the current season began.
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In a year of several highs for Celtic, they have also set one unwanted record - their worst ever European result.
While many will agree there is little shame in losing heavily to Barcelona, their 7-0 thrashing at the Nou Camp falls just short of the club's record loss, an 8-0 reverse against Motherwell in 1937.
Missed opportunities
One record Celtic certainly won't break this season is the longest winning streak in a European top flight.
After a 2-2 draw at Inverness in September, they won their next 22 Premiership fixtures before another stalemate - this time 1-1 with Rangers - on March 12.
That result saw them fall seven games short of the 29 consecutive victories Benfica tallied between 1971 and 1973, as well as Celtic's own Scottish record of 25 wins in a row in 2003/04.
Instead, the sequence of wins they clocked up this term sits joint eighth on the all-time list, next to Rangers' own run of 22 wins between 1898 and 1899.
Welsh team The New Saints also recorded 22 wins last year and those 25 back-to-back victories Celtic had 13 seasons ago are third in the rankings, with Dinamo Zagreb's 28 in 2006-07 second.
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Still possible
In 2013/14, Celtic set a new European record for the biggest title-winning margin as they won the Premiership by 29 points from second-placed Motherwell.
The mark lasted just one year, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired Paris Saint-Germain winning Ligue 1 by 31 points last term.
Celtic still have work to do if they are to eclipse that total or even beat their own best margin once again.
That won't necessarily concern their fans as much as the margin between them and bitter rivals Rangers, which is likely to be of more interest.
The two teams have never been so far apart while they have been in the same division - and that doesn't look like changing before the summer.
Celtic have been prolific scorers this season and a couple of handsome wins could give them a chance of beating their total of 105 league goals in the old SPL 13 years ago.
Their club record haul of 116 goals in 1915/16 looks as though it could be beyond them, however, given they are still well short of three figures.
Having dropped only four points so far this season, Celtic could afford to lose one of their last eight matches and still beat their record points haul of 103 from 2001/02.
That said, a defeat would deny them the chance to become the first Scottish side since Rangers in 1898/99 to go through an entire league season unbeaten.
The Parkhead team have done that once before - the season before Rangers - but drew three of their 18 games, whereas their Glasgow rivals won all of their fixtures.
If Celtic win the Scottish Cup as well, it will give them their fourth domestic treble and their first since 2001 - although they will still be three behind Rangers' total of seven.
Down the line
Although Celtic's current squad have gone unbeaten domestically for longer than the Lisbon Lions, they are still well short of the club's record on that front.
They will have to remain unbeaten for much of next season as well to have a chance of beating the 62 games without losing they recorded between November 1915 and April 1917.
Celtic's title win moves them on to 101 major trophies claimed and although they are still 14 behind Rangers, they have made a lot of ground up on the Ibrox side since their administration in 2012.
Of course, both clubs share the record for consecutive Scottish titles - Celtic collecting nine in a row between 1966 and 1974 and Rangers matching that run between 1989 and 1997.
Celtic are still six titles behind Rangers overall with 48 compared with 54 - but hitting 10 in a row in 2021 would give them one new record and bring them within touching distance of another.
