Larsson: Celts are way out in front

CELTIC legend Henrik Larsson believes the current team can achieve something even he could not at the club – go through an entire season undefeated.

The Swede won a Treble, a double, stopped Rangers getting to 10 in a row and played in a European final, but even the great sides under Martin O’Neill lost the occasional domestic match during their trophy laden era.

It is 13 years ago this week since Larsson became Celtic’s third top goalscorer when a goal against Hibernian took him behind only Parkhead icons Bobby Lennox and Jimmy McGrory on the all-time list.

Larsson returns in May to Celtic Park as manager in a charity game – his old team-mate Lubo Moravcik will be in the other dugout – and he expects the club to have pulled off something remarkable by then.

He said: “Celtic have a good side, the manager has done a great job there and at this moment Celtic are too good for everybody else.

“They haven’t lost yet this season and I don’t think they will now.”

Larsson played his last competitive game for Celtic in 2004 before moving to Barcelona and Manchester United.

His spell in Catalonia culminated in the 2006 Champions League win when he came off the bench and set up both goals for Barcelona against Arsenal.

However, his seven years at Parkhead remain the stand out years of a stellar career.

Larsson, speaking to Celtic TV, said: “I didn’t see any of this coming. When I was in Holland I was almost on my way to Helsingborgs again. Wim Jansen took over at Celtic, knew about a clause in my contract and so brought me to Scotland.

“I didn’t know that much about Scottish football at the time. I felt I would give it a chance, but never dreamed I’d get the goals that I got.

“You dream about it and hope you can do it, but it wasn’t the main object; that was to start enjoying football again and as a striker that means scoring goals.

“Those seven years exceeded all my expectations. I always say Celtic is number one for me.”

ik’s Heroes will take on Lubo’s Legends at Celtic Park on Sunday, May 28, with a 2pm kick-off.