Greek-Australian Ange Postecoglou has steered Celtic FC to the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Premiership and is now on the brink of a historic eighth treble for the Glasgow club if he can lead them to victory against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup Final.
A 2-0 win against Hearts in the Scottish capital left the Glaswegians with an unassailable lead over fierce rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.
“This is another wonderful day for our football club, champions of Scotland again, crowned as back-to-back Scottish Premiership winners – it sounds good doesn’t it!” Postecoglou told celticfc.com.
“Everything we do here is for our supporters, to give you a team to be proud of and to play a style of football that you will enjoy watching, and the incredible backing that we’ve received throughout the season has been invaluable. This league triumph is a reward for all of us who love this unique club of ours ... we hope that we can enjoy further success together in a few weeks’ time when we compete in the Scottish Cup final.”
Rangers, beware. Celtic now have 53 league titles – only two off Rangers’ record of 55 – after winning an 11th championship in the past 12 years.
Celtic have already won the Scottish League Cup, beating Rangers 2-1 in the final in February, and play Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish FA Cup final on June 3 in an attempt to complete the treble – a feat the team achieved every year from 2017-20.
Celtic have lost only one of their 34 league games this season – at St Mirren in September – and there was little danger of a second defeat after Hearts defender Alex Cochrane was sent off in the 45th minute with the score at 0-0 at Tynecastle.
Japan striker Kyogo Furuhashi bundled in the opening goal in the 67th minute but had to go off moments later due to an injury sustained while scoring.
South Korea striker Oh Hyeon-gyu glanced in the second goal 10 minutes from full-time to secure victory for Celtic and a second straight league title under their Australian coach.
The only other team to win a Scottish league title since 2012 is Rangers in 2021, when Steven Gerrard was manager.
Postecoglou, who is continually linked with a move to the English Premier League, is already eyeing next season’s Champions League campaign with Celtic.
“Everyone in football knows how special European nights at Celtic Park are, and we will welcome some of Europe’s top teams and best players to our stadium knowing that, with 60,000 supporters behind us, we can compete with the very best,” he said.
Meanwhile, Joe Hart is on course for a piece of British football history. After helping Celtic claim the Scottish Premiership crown, Hart will now be setting his sights on winning the Scottish Cup on the June 3.
If he manages it he will only be the second player in history to win every domestic honour in Scotland and England.
The only other player to have done this is Kenny Dalglish.
Joe Hart reckons the limited number of away fans allow inside Tynecastle made Celtic’s title victory “sweeter”.
Around 1200 away fans squeezed into the stand and lapped up the party atmosphere with the 2-0 victory.
The result claimed the title for Ange Postecoglou’s side before they were welcomed back to Celtic Park by a massive crowd.
However, post-match Hart took a veiled dig at the allocation issued to the champions.
The fans are amazing, they go everywhere with us. It’s even sweeter to come to a stadium where they’ve tried to have as few in as possible.
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