Former Celtic star Alan Stubbs has conceded that relief was the overriding emotion in him when the Bhoys won the league in 1997/98 and stopped Rangers from winning ten league titles in a row.
Celtic were without a title in nine years and Rangers were gunning to win the league for the tenth time in a row when the 1997/98 season commenced.
The Bhoys were under pressure from the fans to stop their Glasgow rivals from achieving that remarkable feat and Stubbs was one of the most important members of that squad.
The defender is remembered for scoring a crucial late equaliser against Rangers in that season, which many feel changed the course of the campaign and helped Celtic to win the league title.
The season went to the last day and a 2-0 win over St. Johnstone helped the Bhoys to win the title.
Stubbs has no hesitation in conceding that more than the joy, he felt a sense of relief in stopping Rangers and winning the league as if they failed to do it, fans would have remembered that team for all the wrong reasons.
“For me, that goal and that season, was all about relief”, the former Bhoy told The Athletic.
“The pressure was unbelievable, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife at times because of what was riding on it.”
“I’ve got no shame in saying; when we won the league on the last day of the season (2-0 at home against St Johnstone, with Harald Brattbakk scoring the decisive second goal), yes, it was about jubilation, but the biggest emotion was relief.
“Not just me, but we as a group didn’t want to let anybody down, least of all the fans.
“We knew that if we were to lose the league that season we would go down in history for all the wrong reasons.”
Rangers went on to win the next two league titles, but Stubbs again won the title with Celtic in 2001.
