IT ALL STARTED HERE

Ahead of the 2020/21 campaign’s first fixtures this weekend, the Celtic View remembers Flag Day over the course of nine in-a-row

AFTER narrowly missing out on the league title at the end of the 2010/11 campaign, Neil Lennon entered his second full season in charge at Paradise with high hopes.

By April 7, 2012, the Hoops boss had led his side to the first of the current nine in-a-row run, and had set what would become the club’s most successful decade in motion. His team finished that season 20 points clear of second place Rangers, and, nine years later, the current Celtic side secured their ninth consecutive league title with a 13-point gap.

Ahead of this weekend’s first Scottish Premiership fixture of the 2020/21 trail, against Hamilton Accies at Celtic Park, the View remembers the beginning of each of the last nine successful seasons.

2011/12

HIBERNIAN 0 - 2 CELTIC

The Hoops got the first of nine off to a flyer with a comprehensive 2-0 win over Hibs at Easter Road, with goals in each half from Anthony Stokes and Ki Sung-Yueng.

The Irishman’s strike came after just 14 minutes, when the home side’s keeper Graham Stack fumbled a Kris Commons free-kick into the forward’s path, who stroked the ball into an empty net from a tight angle.

Captain for the day in the place of the injured Scott Brown, Mark Wilson had the ball in the net shortly afterwards but his effort was ruled offside – despite TV replays suggesting otherwise. Nonetheless, South Korean midfielder Ki doubled his side’s lead on 63 minutes, when he received a pass from Stokes 25 yards from goal, and fired the ball into the net from range.