Days Gone By: The Centenary Bhoys Clinch The Title

With the prospect - albeit a slightly remote one - of Celtic winning the title against Dundee on Sunday we thought we'd take a look back at the last time we clinched title against them, on a glorious day in 1988

The Centenary Bhoys of 1987-88 really are one of the greatest sides in the club's long and glorious history, as we managed to win a league and Scottish Cup double despite possessing only a fraction of the finances that Rangers had at that time, all this after appointing Billy McNeill in the summer and having the likes of Brian McClair, Maurice Johnston, Murdo MacLeod and Alan McInally all leaving the club.

The title was won on April 23rd 1988, watched by a crowd of 60,800 - but later admitted by the Celtic directors to be around 72,000, with thousands of fans left locked outside.

The team picked that day included such mainstays as Pat Bonner, Paul McStay and Tommy Burns, with starts for newer signings such as Chris Morris, Joe Miller and the strikeforce of Frank McAvennie and Andy Walker, and it was one of the new signings that gave us the perfect start after only three minutes.

A ball played into the box was parried by Dundee goalkeeper Tom Carson, and after a brief scramble it broke to Chris Morris who rammed the ball into the unguarded net. 1-0 to the champions!

Despite constant Celtic pressure, the second goal arrived with fifteen minutes left. A Joe Miller pass was touched on by Frank McAvennie and gathered by Andy Walker, who despite being forced wide of goal by Carson managed to get the ball into the net from a very acute angle. 2-0 to the champions!

The third goal arrived only a minute later and it was another for Andy Walker, who outpaced the Dundee defence and hit a low, hard shot which gave Carson no chance. 3-0 to the champions!

After an emotional rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in the last few minutes, the final whistle brought scenes of - you've guessed it - wild celebrations, as the fans invaded the pitch. They were eventually ushered off the pitch, as the players began a well-deserved celebratory lap of honour.

Great scenes, and ones which nobody could have predicted at the end of the previous season. Whilst the celebrations this Sunday - if we win the league - may not be as wild as those days of 1988, the achievement of winning the league is still worth celebrating.

Saturday April 23rd 1988; Scottish Premier League: Celtic 3 (Morris 3, Walker 75,76) Dundee 0

Highlights of the game vs Dundee

Bonus documentary on Billy McNeill and the Centenary Bhoys