Celtic v FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
TREBLE winner Jack McNamara today dismissed predictions Celtic are set to suffer a Premiership collapse after a weekend loss to Kilmarnock cut their lead to eight points.
The former Parkhead favourite, who helped Martin O’Neill’s side win all three domestic trophies back in 2001, i nsisted Brendan Rodgers’ team can make history and complete a clean sweep of honours for the second season running.
The Glasgow club slumped to their second defeat of the 2017/18 campaign on Saturday and their second reverse in less than two months when they were beaten 1-0 at Rugby Park.
The surprise result on a notorious artificial surface in Ayrshire allowed Aberdeen, who have finished second in the top flight in the last three seasons, to draw nearer to them in the table and led to suggestions they can be caught.
But McNamara, whose goal against Hibs in the William Hill Scottish Cup final in 2001 sent Celtic on their way to what was only the third Treble in their history at the time, thinks they can retain the Premiership and go on to become the first team ever to do backto-back trebles.
“They have still only lost two games,” he said at Hampden as he looked ahead to the William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round match between his two former clubs Celtic and Partick Thistle this Saturday.
“Brendan didn’t make any excuses about the Kilmarnock surface, but it isn’t the best.
“They will want to bounce back from that. You saw the difference in the two games against Hearts, so I don’t think they will have problems. Celtic can win another treble.”
McNAMARA was tipped as a possible Celtic manager of the future after making an impressive start to his career at first Partick Thistle and then Dundee United, who he led to the William Hill Scottish Cup final in 2014.
But he was sacked as United manager after the Tannadice club sold Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay-Steven and Nadir Ciftci to their Parkhead rivals and then went on a disappointing run.
Now working as the chief executive at English minnows York City, the former Scotland defender admitted that he is not sure if he will return to the dugout in the future.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I still have a belief that I could do well i n management. Whether I would go back to it, we’ll see. I enjoyed a lot of it, I didn’t enjoy the last bit up here for obvious reasons.”