THOUSANDS of Celtic fans rushed to Parkhead to welcome their heroes back home after securing the club’s third Scottish Premiership title in a row.
A 5-0 win over Kilmarnock clinched a 54th top flight crown for the Hoops, putting them one behind Rangers in the total list.
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Goals from Adam Idah, Daizen Maeda, James Forrest and a Matt O’Riley brace made the difference for Celtic on the night.
After the players celebrated on the pitch at Rugby Park – and the fans had their own pyro party – the Hoops squad headed back up the M77 to their Glasgow east end base.
Waiting at Celtic Park was a mass of supporters ready to greet the team.
It was a sea of green with flags and scarves aplenty and fireworks were also set off outside the ground as the fans celebrated into the night.
Celts boss Brendan Rodgers then led his players onto a stage in front of the main entrance to the stadium to address the fans.
Rodgers of course was a far from universally popular appointment at the start of the season.
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He returned to the club where he’d previously won a Double Treble three and a bit years after leaving it for Leicester City.
But he vowed to deliver another league title in his first season back and has kept his promise.
Rodgers said: “I stood here just under a year ago and there was about 200 people and I said I’d see you back here in May.
“We have a few more than 200 here and this evening is about the players and the staff.
“The honesty of this group, everybody was writing them off, but they kept working and were honest to the game and to the club and tonight they get the reward.
“So tonight, thank you to the players.”
Captain Callum McGregor said: “I’m so proud of the players. They’ve had to show resilience in difficult moments throughout the league campaign.
“We found our form in the last five or six weeks and it’s been unbelievable.”
He added in reference to the team’s end to the season and the Scottish Cup final on May 25: “We’ve sprinted over the line and we’ve got ten days to go before we want to win another trophy.”
And then veteran winger Forrest stepped up to speak but his speech was curtailed by a chorus of “There’s only one James Forrest”, paying tribute to his recent turnaround in form.
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Forrest said: “It’s unbelievable and tonight was incredible. We had a great start to the game and that’s what we want.”
Joe Hart also spoke to the fans at the stadium – after looking visibly emotional at Rugby Park hours earlier – saying that he “really appreciated” their support.
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