IT was the night 10 men won the league. Na,na,na,na,na.

For Celtic supporters of a certain age, May 21, 1979 at Parkhead is their greatest memory from all the years following their team. Even those too young to have been there would never not put the game into the club’s all-time top 10.

It was a Monday evening. There were no cameras – a television mast was taken down because of a strike by TV technicians – and all that is left for posterity is grainy, shaky, black and white footage taken by a fan in the Jungle on his home camera.

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It was Celtic’s final league match, Rangers had two more to go, but a win would see the flag flying over Celtic Park at the end of Billy McNeill’s first season as manager.

A point would do for the visitors, managed by John Greig, as long as Rangers could pick up the required points in the remaining matches.
This was the Old Firm game to end them all.

Rangers took an early lead, John MacDonald the scorer, an advantage they held until half-time. Celtic got a man sent off, the late Johnny Doyle, early in the second-half, but still equalised through Roy Aitken. Then with 16 minutes left, George McCluskey somehow put Celtic ahead and their fans into delirium.

That lasted two minutes. Bobby Russell made it 2-2 but with five minutes to go, Rangers’ defender Colin Jackson put the ball into his own net.

With the clock ticking, almost as fast as the hearts of both sets of supporters, Murdo MacLeod ran up the park and, in his own words, hit the ball hard to try, at the very least, to waste some time. The ball flew into the top corner.

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MacLeod was a good 40 yards out. In 2002 it was voted the greatest goal in Celtic history.

That was the first time Celtic had clinched a championship against Rangers at their own home. Perhaps this is why Desmond Whyte, the chairman at the time, called it the club’s greatest hour since Lisbon.

And now Brendan Rodgers has an opportunity to do just that. It won’t be so dramatic; however, he knows what it would mean to the supporters if he could give them this day to remember.

“I was six in 1979 so it was a long, long time ago,” said the Celtic manager. “I think you want to win the league as soon as you can. Last year we won it away at Hearts. If you can do it in front of your own supporters and against one of your big rivals then great. But the job is to get it done.

“When we started out at the beginning of the season we started out to win – League Cup, we were able to do that. Scottish Cup? We are in the final with a great showpiece to come and we now go to complete the league, and we have an opportunity to do that at home. I am sure it is going to be a great occasion.

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“The noise, the atmosphere will be electric on the day, like all of the games are. There will be that special added factor that we can win the league. 

“But we have to stay calm, stay focussed on the game and that has been my approach in every one of these games.

“They are always full of emotion, full of passion but within all of that you have to perform and hopefully we will hope to do that as we have done in the previous 10 games.”

If you know the history is a well worn line in the Celtic Song and the current manager, while respectful and knowledgeable of what has gone before, is far more interested in creating history.

“I don’t go overboard on it the [history], he admitted. “It’s similar to last year when people talked about whether it might be the last opportunity. I don’t see it like that. If you say that then you are telling guys they might never do it again.

“It’s a great opportunity. In the big games it’s about staying calm – don’t feel too trapped by all of the stuff around it.

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“It’s like winning the treble. It’s one of these things people have talked about not happening for a long time. We can only affect modern history. We respect the great history and values of the club but our job is to create our own.

“If we can tick another box and make history, then great. We have four games to win the title and if we can do it in this one it would be a special day.”

Ironically, the Rangers team of 1979 were themselves going for 
back-to-back trebles. Only Motherwell can stop Celtic doing that in the 
Scottish Cup final but the best this Rangers team can do is postpone a party.

Anything other than a Celtic win is highly unlikely. That would make it nine wins and two draws for Rodgers in this fixture.

“We come in every day to work hard and train hard, we can’t worry too much about what the opponent is going to try to do,” he said. “If we bring our game then we know we have great chance of winning. Of course, the longer you go, it can get more difficult [for Rangers]. Our priority is to forget about what came before and look forward to this one, which we all are.

“There’s certainly no complacency. No matter the 10 games previously, you need to go and prove yourself in the next one. We will be ready for whatever Rangers throw at us.”