Glasgow Celtic claimed their second straight Scottish Premier League title on Sunday when the Hoops pummeled Inverness 4-1 at Celtic Park.
After a goalless first half Celtic scored three times in a twelve minute span to ignite the victory. Striker Gary Hooper got things started in the 61st minute when he received the ball from Kris Commons and held off Graeme Shinnie before firing low past a diving Antonio Reguero from 12 yards. Five minutes later Mikael Lustig overlapped Joe Ledley and sent a return pass to the Welsh International who guided the ball into the far corner.
In the 73rd minute it was Hooper again, this time scoring his 28th of the season, on a cheeky flick from Commons’ hard-hit cross. Celtic got their fourth from Greek striker Georgios Samaras, who’s brilliant solo effort in the 88th minute crashed off the bar and in from a tight angle. Inverness would get one back four minutes later through Aaron Doran but it was little consolation for Terry Butcher’s side as the celebrations exploded in Parkhead.
Neil Lennon made one change to his Celtic side, inserting Anthony Stokes for Emilio Izaguirre after Stokes scored the game winner in last week’s 4-3 victory over Dundee United in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup. Celtic will look to do the domestic double next month when it takes on Hibernian at Hampden in the William Hill Scottish Cup final. Raising the cup would be the cherry on top of yet another memorable season, which included a sensational run to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Once the celebrations die down, however, this summer could see drastic changes to the green side of Glasgow. Hooper and Victor Wanyama will once again become targets of clubs across England and the continent. Hooper has long been linked with a move to Tottenham, Norwich City or Southampton whereas Wanyama has a wide variety of suitors including Manchester United, Arsenal and even Barcelona.
The biggest loss, however, would be if Lennon decided to move on. The Celtic manager earned high praise for his European success and will be faced the decision of whether to stay in Scotland and develop Celtic’s young, talented players like James Forrest and Adam Matthews, or to tread a new path that could provide him with a bigger, more competitive and reliable stage to display his managerial talents.
