MOVING FORWARD TO THE NEXT LEVEL

[ TOM BOYD ] Season 1997/98 saw a continental approach being adopted by Celtic Football Club with the appointment of Football General Manager, Jock Brown and Head Coach, Wim Jansen. An array of nine players joined the squad from both home and abroad for the start of the most exciting season in a decade.

The first trophy success of the season came on 30th November '97, when Celtic defeated Dundee United 3-0 at Ibrox to lift the Coca-Cola Cup.

The season culminated in Celtic winning the Premier League Championship on 9th May 1998 on the final day of the league. In front of a capacity crowd at Celtic Park, the team defeated St Johnstone 2-0 to bring the Championship Trophy back to Celtic Park for the first time in 10 years.

The end of the season however saw the departure of Wim Jansen and later in the year Jock Brown. The summer of 1998 brought the completion of the new Celtic Park. Following committed expenditure by Celtic of around £40m, the UK's largest club stadium has been created. Celtic Park now has some of the most modern facilities available with a capacity of over 60,000.

Season 1998/99 brought the appointment of Jozef Venglos as Head Coach. Four new players joined the team and some excellent football throughout the season, including the 5-1 defeat of Rangers on 5th November '98. Although the success of the previous year was not repeated, the team finished second in the league and made it to the final of the Scottish Cup in the new Hampden Park.

April '99 also saw the end of a Celtic era as Fergus McCann departed the club after a tremendous five years as Managing Director, and hand over the reigns to Allan MacDonald from 1st July '99.

No sooner was the season finished fans saw the return to Celtic Park of Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish, as Director of Football Operations. Jozef Venglos became European technical advisor - with ex-England internationalist John Barnes taking over as Head Coach.