In May 1997 a tearful Richard Gough, looking dignified in blazer, flannels, brogues and club tie raised the trophy into the air at Tannadice.
Nine-in-a-row for David Murray’s All-Stars but strangely the skipper was leaving, off to join an American club for no obvious reason.
Walter Smith went full on in the close season. He convinced Brian Laudrup to stay, Paul Gascoigne was upto his old tricks and real Rangers men like Andy Goram, Ally McCoist, Ian Ferguson, Ian Durrant, Gordon Durie and Stuart McCall knew that one more title would bury Celtic and earn them the eternal gratitude of the blue half of Glasgow.
From Italy Smith signed Lorenzo Amoruso, Sergio Porrini, Marco Negri, Rino Gatusso and Jonas Thern.
Don’t bet on it Richard pic.twitter.com/PuFXi9eLAz
— Joe McHugh (@videocelts) May 18, 2020
The 1997/98 season didn’t start too well for Smith who announced he was leaving at the end of the season. Gough returned from America to score the only goal of the first Glasgow derby.
Celtic hung in there, neither club impressed but at the end of the season Wim Jansen’s side edged the title on the final day. Both clubs had a share of 9-in-a-row. Celtic had stopped the ten, next season Steven Gerrard has that responsibility.
The last decade has been painful for Gough and his Ibrox generation. Celtic have dominated in a way that even Jock Stein’s side never managed.
Today a second 9-in-a-row has been achieved but no one at Celtic is stopping. Maybe Gough will be right, in 12 months time 9-in-a-row may have be replaced by something much more painful for him to consider.