Celtic cruise to eight in a row

LONDON, May 05 (AFP): Celtic remain in a league of their own in Scotland as a 3-0 win at Aberdeen clinched an eighth consecutive Premiership title on Saturday.

The Hoops are now just one victory away from a third consecutive domestic treble of trophies should they defeat Hearts in the Scottish Cup final on May 25.

However, that haul of silverware belies a troubled campaign that saw manager Brendan Rodgers walk out on the club to move to Leicester and a repeated failure to make progress in Europe.

Neil Lennon returned for his second spell in charge when Rodgers suddenly upped sticks in February and has steadied the ship with an unbeaten 11-game run to extend Celtic's eight-point lead over Rangers to 12, although Steven Gerrard's men have a game in hand.

Yet, despite the results, Celtic's performances have not hit the heights they often did under Rodgers in the past three months with Lennon admitting his side gave him "heebee jeebees" in closing out the title.

Lennon is yet to be handed the job on a permanent basis and uncertainty surrounds not only who will be in the dugout next season, but the futures of much of a bloated squad.

"It's been really tough, the toughest piece of management I've had to do," added Lennon.

"It has been difficult coming in to the club but the players helped me and I like to think I've helped them. It's been really special."

There is little time for the Celtic board to deliberate when it comes to naming a new manager or in the transfer market as the Scottish champions will again have to trawl through four qualifying rounds to make it back to the riches and glamour of the Champions League.