Despite still having roughly half the season left to play, Celtic are hurtling toward yet another league title under Brendan Rodgers.
At the time of writing, the Hoops are nine points clear of Aberdeen, with fierce rivals Rangers a further 11 points adrift as the Scottish football betting makes the title race all but over.
It will be a historic victory for Celtic should they see out the campaign without any capitulation between now and May, as they emulate Rangers’ record of 55 Scottish Premiership titles.
That will be a bitter pill to swallow for those involved with the Ibrox club. But the harsh reality is, that aside from their own success under Steven Gerrard in 2021, they simply haven’t been able to compete with the Hoops.
The last 12 years have seen Celtic win the Scottish Premiership on 11 occasions, and they’re on course for a three-peat this season. So, without further ado, let’s take a look back at their dominance of the division since 2012.
2012-2020: Nine in a row
In 2012, Rangers were in financial turmoil and entering administration, and Celtic rubbed salt in their wounds by ending the Gers’ run of three league titles in a row.
The Hoops eased their way to the trophy, finishing 20 points clear of Rangers as Neil Lennon enjoyed his first league title as Celtic boss.
With Rangers demoted to the fourth tier of Scottish football, Celtic would face little competition in the league for years to come.
Motherwell posed the biggest threat to the Hoops for the next two campaigns but didn’t get within closer than 16 points before Aberdeen sealed second spot for four years in a row—most notably finishing nine points adrift in 2017-18.
By this point, Rangers, now back in the Scottish Premiership for two years, had rebuilt enough to take runner-up duties for the first time in seven years in 2018-19, finishing nine points behind their rivals.
Celtic matched their previous record of nine straight league titles in 2019-20 when finishing 13 points clear of Rangers. Lennon saw out the achievement after Brendan Rodgers departed for Leicester City in the middle of the campaign.
Rangers were desperate to stop Celtic from winning a landmark 10th title in 2020-21, and Steven Gerrard was the Gers’ hero—guiding them to an unbeaten season and 25 points clear of Celtic in a year that was riddled by the pandemic.
2022-2024: Three in a row
While Rangers would have been hoping to kick on and rack up a couple more league titles in a row following their 55th title, that didn’t materialise, and Celtic have reasserted their dominance in the football odds.
The Gers were four points clear at the top of the table when Gerrard departed for Aston Villa in November 2021, but Celtic turned the tides under Ange Postecoglou to win the title as Giovanni van Bronckhorst struggled with league encounters despite guiding Rangers to the Europa League final.
Van Bronckhorst’s lack of cohesion in the Scottish Premiership continued into the 2022-23 campaign. He was sacked in November after Celtic trailed by nine points, but replacement Michael Beale couldn’t close the gap on the Hoops as Postecoglou won the treble.
The Australian departed Paradise for Tottenham Hotspur in the offseason, with Brendan Rodgers returning for a second stint in the dugout. The Northern Irishman guided Celtic to his third league title, holding off Rangers by eight points.