The Return of the King

Phil O'Donnell Tribute Match

Celtic (1998) 5 Motherwell (1991) 1

Scorers: Wieghorst, Larsson, Brattbakk 2, Jackson

We came to honour Phil, the Motherwell and ex-Celtic player, who tragically died on the field of play last December but we also came for one last afternoon in Paradise with Henrik Larsson.

Three generations of my family attended the game, my dad & mum, my two brothers and their wives and my seven year old nephew. Henrik didn't disappoint. Going up for a header in the opening minutes there was a clash of heads that saw our hero hit the deck and need to leave the field for stitches.

About 15 minutes later the crowd began wondering whether he would reappear but then a huge cheer went up and there he was, emerging from the tunnel, ready to come back on. Within minutes he met a cross into the box with a perfect scissor-kick. The ball was in the back of the net, the Celtic fans were singing his praises and The Magnificent Seven was playing on the Celtic Park public address system.

Nostalgia, dont you just love it!?

After an hour the number 7 came up on the substitution board and he was off to re-join his Swedish team-mates for Euro 2008, stopping briefly at the touchline to wave goodbye to us again.

At least my nephew can now say he saw the greatest striker of Celtic's post-war history play and score at Celtic Park. If only the circumstances that brought our Henrik home again hadn't been so tragic.

3 IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!

I dont think I have ever been as proud to be a supporter of the magical, wonderful football club that is Celtic as I was last night.

To turn what was effectively a 12 point deficit into a three point winning margin by winning seven straight games was an outstanding achievement. Gordon and his Bhoys have rightly earned their place in Celtic's history. The first Celtic team to win three league titles in a row since the days of the great Jock Stein.

I could waffle on about how much this league win means to me but it can be summed up by three words. Take it away Bono, Larry, Edge and the other one........

Only a day away?

And so it comes down to the final day tomorrow. Celtic and Rangers tied on 86 points, Celtic with a goal difference of 57 and Rangers with a goal difference of 53, Celtic away to Dundee Utd while Rangers are away to Aberdeen.

There is no getting away from fact we would have been delighted with this scenario only a few weeks ago when we were 7 points behind and Rangers still had a game in hand. Celtic, for the first time in months, are favourites to lift the SPL title.

On the plus side we are the side in form with six straight wins going into this match. We're also going to Tannadice, a venue where we win far more often than we dont. However the scars of losing the league on the last day in 2003 and in particular 2005 still run deep.

Whatever happens tomorrow evening it will be important to keep a sense of perspective though. This season has seen the tragic deaths at a young age of two cherished members of the Celtic family, Phil O'Donnell and Tommy Burns. If we win a glass or two will be raised by me to the team that became the first Celtic side since Jock Stein's teams to win 3 league titles in a row but the glasses will also be raised to those who are no longer with us to celebrate our triumph.

If we lose it will be important to remember that there will be other league titles to be won and that we have lost something far more important to Celtic this season than a league title.

Just give us your all tomorrow night Bhoys, it's all we can ask.