BRENDAN RODGERS was out of a job the last time Celtic lost to Scottish opposition at Parkhead.
Motherwell delivered the fateful 2-1 defeat in the east end of Glasgow on December 15 2015 – exactly 72 days after the Irishman had left Liverpool.
Rodgers will attempt to make sure the champions remain unbeaten in their 31st successive domestic confrontation when Mark McGhee brings his Fir Park outfit to the home of the champions today.
Fourteen months have passed since Louis Moult tucked a 59th-minute penalty-kick beyond Craig Gordon for Well’s winning goal to stun the watching 42,603 spectators.
It was the first time the Lanarkshire outfit had won at Parkhead in nearly eight years – and they came from behind to achieve the feat.
Nit Bitton had put the Hoops ahead with a deflected effort off Keith Lasley four minutes after the turnaround.
However, Well had a quickfire reply when Moult, who netted twice against the Hoops in his side’s 4-3 home defeat in December, levelled in the 53rd minute.
Jozo Simunovic brought down ex-Celt Scott McDonald just before the hour mark and referee Bobby Madden pointed to the spot. Moult sent Gordon the wrong way for the points-clincher.
Ronny Deila sent on Carlton Cole and Scott Allan for Tom Rogic and James Forrest in a vain rescue bid.
The final whistle meant the Norwegian had seen Celtic fail to win at home in four consecutive games – following Kilmarnock (0-0) in the Premiership and Molde (1-2) and Ajax (1-2) in the Europa League.
Tony Mowbray had been the manager the last time there had been such a dismal sequence.
However, Celtic still remained a point ahead of Aberdeen at the top of the Premiership with a game in hand after 18 outings.
The Celtic team was: Gordon; Lustig, Boyata, Simunovic, Tierney; Bitton, Rogic (sub: Cole 74), Commons; Forrest (sub: Allan 67), Ciftci and McGregor.
Eight of the 13 players involved in the loss featured in Saturday’s 6-0 Scottish Cup win over Inverness Caley Thistle with the exception of Simunovic, the injured Tom Rogic, frozen-out Kris Commons, Allan, on loan at Rotherham, and Cole, who was released at the end of the campaign.
Ironically, Deila’s two-year reign as Hoops gaffer came to an end with a game against Motherwell on the same ground on May 15 – exactly five months after the loss.
He said farewell with a revenge win as the Celts brought down the curtain on an eventful season with a 7-0 triumph as they celebrated their fifth successive Premiership crown.
They completed the 38-match marathon on 86 points, 15 ahead of Aberdeen.
Five days after the final game of the campaign, Brendan Rodgers’ seven-month exile from football came to an end when he was announced as the new Celtic manager.
It has been Paradise Regained ever since, as far as the Hoops fans are concerned.
