Celtic were crowded champions this afternoon after winning the Scottish League for the first time since their Centenary Season in 1988, and in doing so stopped Rangers removing their nine league wins in a row from the record books.

Henrik Larsson finished his promising debut term at Celtic Park with his nineteenth goal of the season after three minutes to put Celtic ahead against St Johnstone, but nerves seemed to grip the players and fans alike in the 50,000 crowd, as the home team failed to build on their advantage.

Early in the second half news filtered through that Rangers had gone 0-2 ahead against Dundee United at Tannadice after a soft penalty, which meant a St Johnstone goal would have changed the destination of the title.

George O'Boyle almost equalised for St Johnstone but was inches away from connecting with a header after keeper Jonathan Gould failed to gather a cross.  Second half substitute Harald Brattbakk settled the nerves on 72 minutes, racing onto a Jackie McNamara cross after captain Tommy Boyd caught the St Johnstone defence out with an inch perfect pass.

Scenes of joy then ensued as Celtic fans realised that arguably the darkest period in their history was minutes away from ending.

The final whistle was greeted by a cheer that might still be reverberating in the new Celtic Park a decade from now, before the league championship trophy, which was ready to be despatched to either Celtic Park or Tannadice, was lifted aloft by Tommy Boyd.

Celtic major shareholder, Fergus McCann, remarkably still an enigmatic figure among some of the Celtic support, stepped in only four years earlier with the club in serious financial peril, but will see his dream of a new Celtic Park, complete with 60,000 seats, finish in time for the flag raising ceremony in August.

Celtic's title challenge looked to be faltering after a 0-0 draw last month at home to relegated Hibernian, defeats in the league and cup to Rangers and a 1-1 draw at Dunfermline on Sunday, but Wim Jansen's team found one more win in their locker to deliver the championship.  It is difficult to imagine the damage that would have been done to this club's moral if this championship had slipped from their grasp.

Celtic fans sang "Cheerio to ten-in-a-row" and turned towns and villages across Scotland into a cavalcade of green and white merriment.  Kindred strangers embraced as they acknowledged the most important Celtic win since Lisbon in 1967 and looked forward to a new chapter in the magical journey that is Celtic's history.

While we are all in a state of emotional excitement about the weekend it might be worth reflecting on why Celtic Football Club was formed in the first place; to help disadvantaged children. 

This weekend is a big time in the life of five-year-old Katie Currie from East Kilbride, who suffers from leukaemia and is now in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant.  The Sunday Mail published an excellent article on Katie and her family at the weekend, which I explains the acuteness of the situation and how the life of a five-year-old child can be saved.

The family would like to you drop in to the Holiday Inn in East Kilbride tomorrow between 11am and 3pm for a blood test in the hope that they find a match for Katie.  Ideal donors are adult males.

I am quite nervous about this weekend, but I cannot imagine the anticipation Katie's parents feel that you will make it to East Kilbride.  This one is a numbers game, so get along, bring a friend and get in touch with what Br. Walfrid was on about all those years ago.

Sports psychology is a complex business.  I wanted Motherwell to lose at home to Aberdeen this Saturday to ensure that both of them have plenty to play for when meeting Rangers the following week, but do I really want Motherwell to face Rangers on having taken only one point from their previous 18?

 A Motherwell win would go a long way to settling third spot, meaning both teams are likely to be liberated from the pressures of 'must win games' and would perhaps be able to go looking for a point against Rangers rather than a win.

Do we really want to see Motherwell and Aberdeen throwing men forward in the dying minutes of a game against Rangers with the scored at 0-0 because they need the win?  No thanks.

The 'dead rubber' scenario must also be considered; do teams mentally go on holiday when they have nothing to play for?  Perhaps, but will Mark McGhee's Motherwell or an Aberdeen team at Pittodrie (I'll not ask about Jimmy Calderwood)?  I'm not so sure.

I would rather Rangers went to Pittodrie with Aberdeen looking for a point to spoil, rather than needing a win to qualify for the Uefa Cup, and I would prefer Motherwell didn't have to face Rangers after so many defeats.

It's a good job I don't get to decide the results in these games; who would be a referee?