It's strange to talk about resurgent seasons while Celtic are currently en route to a sixth straight Scottish title. But there's no question that Brendan Rodgers has re-energised Parkhead this year.
They returned to the Champions League group phase after an absence of a few years and their dominance of the SPL has been something to behold even by the standards of Glasgow.
Tonight, they equalled a record last achieved by Jock Stein's European Cup winning team of 1966-67. The Lisbon Lions went unbeaten in the first 26 games in Scotland that year. In May 1967, Celtic beat Inter Milan 2-1 in the Portuguese capital to become the first British team to win the European Cup. Famously, they were all born within 30 miles of Celtic Park and they stopped the Italian club winning a third European title in a row.
Tonight, Celtic beat St. Johnstone 1-0 thanks to a 73rd minute Dedryck Boyata goal. It was their 20th win from 21 in the Scottish Premiership and it leaves them 22 points clear of Rangers in the title race (if it can possibly be called that). The odd game out was a 2-2 draw with their bogey team Inverness Caledonian Thistle in September.
Add in the four wins that secured them the Scottish League Cup and their 4th round Scottish Cup win and that takes their unbeaten run in Scotland to 26.
The European record of both sides was rather different. Celtic exited this year in the first round while in 1967 they lost only game - their away quarter-final tie - on the way to the title.
