Rangers are right on track to set a new Scottish record by winning the title in March
Rangers could be set to win one of the earliest Scottish league championships in memory after building up a dominant 21-point lead in the SPFL Premiership.
Steven Gerrard’s side are on course to win their first topflight title for a decade and wrest the trophy from Celtic
Park before the Premiership split, assuming both sides keep winning and Rangers take the third Old Firm win of the season.
Of course, it could be earlier or later depending on how the sides fare over the coming months but, having dropped points in just three away trips this season, it is hard to see the Ibrox side troubling the helicopter pilots deployed in previous seasons this year.
They have around two months to do what’s required if they want to land the earliest title in the past quarter of a century.
Rangers hold the all-time record for earliest league win – in terms of games to go. They won the title with 22.2 per cent of their total games still to play in 1899-1900.
They also share the thirdbest record with Celtic’s 2017 winners, who took the crown with 21.1 per cent of their total games still to play. Rangers did likewise in 1929.
In chronological terms though, Rangers still have the earliest league win within their sights – and their quickest win as a club in a long, long time.
The earliest Rangers win of recent years was in 2000 when Dick Advocaat’s team tied up the Dutchman’s last title for the Ibrox side on April 22.
Back in season 1995-96, Paul
Gascoigne inspired Rangers to an eighth title in a row with a 3-1 win over Aberdeen on April 28.
Here is a look back on the five earliest Scottish top flight successes in the past 25 years.
Joint No 5: 2011-12 Winners: Celtic
The title was secured on April 7, 2012 when Neil Lennon’s side won 6-0 at Kilmarnock to see off Rangers into second-place – though Motherwell prospered from the Ibrox club’s off-field issues and gained the Champions League qualifier place. Rangers had been in pole position for the title at the turn of the year but the wheels came off at Ibrox as Ally Mccoist’s team threw away their advantage amidst turbulent off-the-field financial calamities and administration. They eventually finished 20 points off the pace.
Joint No 5: 2000-01 Winners: Celtic
The first season featuring the “split” saw a Chris Sutton and Henrik Larsson inspired Celtic seal the new SPL trophy for the first time on April 7, 2001. The Swede scored 35 times in 37 league games and 53 times in all competitions.
Old Firm games were highscoring, including a 6-2 win
for Celtic and a 5-1 home win for Rangers in the return. The Hoops finished 15-points ahead of their rivals by the time the season ended.
No 4: 2001-02 Winners: Celtic
Martin O'neill won his second title in a row as Celtic manager on April 6, 2002 – an early date helped by the winter break being abolished and teams playing all the way through December and January
ahead of a summer World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Rangers changed manager in December with Alex Mcleish moving from Hibs but he couldn’t turn the fortunes at Ibrox as Larsson hit 29 league goals en route to the title, gathered with 18 points to spare.
No 3: 2005-06 Winners: Celtic
The Hoops took the title from reigning champions Rangers
and added the league championship to the League Cup, tying up the title on April 5, 2006 after a spirited chase from Hearts who led the way early on under George Burley.
The Edinburgh side later won the Scottish Cup against Gretna, and their secondplace finish split the Old Firm for the first time in a decade and consigned Rangers to third, outside the top two places in the top flight for the first time in 18 years.
No 2: 2016-17 Winners: Celtic
The Invincibles’ season kicked off an unprecedented Scottish domestic quadruple treble and the league title was in the bag early on – Brendan Rodgers’ team lifting the trophy on April 2, 2017. It was one of the earliest league wins by both calendar date and league completion percentage with more than a fifth of the campaign still to be played out. With the Hoops unbeaten to that point, there was still much to play for and a record to defend. The Invincibles duly finished the season without a domestic defeat, two cup competiton wins and a 106 point finish in the league table.
Rangers returned to the top flight for the first time since 2012, and finished third behind
Aberdeen who trailed the winners by 30 points.
No 1: 2013-14 Winners: Celtic
Both Old Firm clubs were quick off the mark in achieving their league successes this season – with Celtic in the Premiership and Rangers winning League One.
The earliest top flight league success in the past quarter of a century was concluded by current Celtic boss Neil Lennon on March 26, 2014 – with a 5-1 win over Partick Thistle on a spring Wednesday evening at Firhill, and some 47 days before the final league fixture of the season.
In a break-out season for James Forrest and Tom Rogic, Kris Commons was the Celtic top scorer with 27 goals from his attacking midfield role, helping the Hoops onto 99 points – 29 ahead of secondplaced Motherwell.
The win, and confirmation of Celtic’s third consecutive league success, was two weeks after Rangers’ own league win. A 3-0 win at Ibrox against Airdrie tied up the Ladbrokes League One third-tier title on March 12, during an unbeaten league campaign. The season prior Rangers had also scooped the League Two title on March 30.