Big deficits can be overcome, but portents are not good

AS any Celtic supporter will fondly recall, mounting a dramatic comeback to win a league title is not without precedent.

In 1985-86, in the days before three points were awarded for victory, the Parkhead club trailed Hearts by nine points – four wins and one draw – at one stage of the season before claiming the crown on goal difference on an unforgettable final day.

Celtic, however, did have three games in hand on Hearts when the deficit was at its widest that season.

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And they faced no challenge at all from their traditional rivals Rangers, who finished in fifth place in what was Jock Wallace’s last season in charge, with Dundee United and Aberdeen taking third and fourth places. Today, Celtic trail Rangers by 12 points – four wins – with just one game in hand on the leaders.

While there is still a significant distance to run in the current championship race, Celtic’s inconsistency suggests they are ill-equipped to reel in their great rivals.

Neil Lennon’s team have already dropped 13 points this season. It is their worst performance in the opening 12 games of an SPL season since 1998-99 when, in Dr Jozef Venglos’ only campaign in charge, they shed 19 points in the first dozen league matches.

Equally worrying for Celtic fans is that their team have now collected fewer points at this stage of the season than they did in any of the three previous ones which saw Rangers gather a hat-trick of titles.

Last season, Lennon’s first full campaign in charge, they dropped just six points from their opening 12 fixtures.

In Tony Mowbray’s ill-starred 2009-10 tenure, Celtic dropped 12 points in the same period, while in Gordon Strachan’s final and unsuccessful season as manager, 2008-09, just five points were dropped in the initial 12 outings.