So Kevin Nolan reckons a Celtic title win ‘wouldn’t be deserved’? Let’s define what would be a deserved title win then, shall we?
Kevin Nolan outrageously claims that Celtic 'wouldn't deserve' to win this season's title if we pull it off in the two remaining fixtures.
Eric Knott 
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JANUARY 03: Celtic Manager Wilfried Nancy looks dejected during a William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park, on January 03, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Rob Casey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Former Bolton, Newcastle, and West Ham midfielder Kevin Nolan believes that if Celtic win this season’s title, it wouldn’t be deserved.
Really?
Well, I personally believe that if Celtic win this title, it will be the most deserved of the 21st century to date.
And I’ll tell you why.
When I was growing up, I was brought up watching movies like the Rocky series, Bloodsport and Kickboxer.
All of those movies portrayed a plucky underdog, who more off than not, picked himself up off the canvas to go on and win a contest nobody expected him to win in a million years.
Through the actions of a small cohort of men this season, Celtic somehow also found themselves in the position of the underdog.
A phenomenon so rare at Celtic Park, it took a lot of us quite some time to believe it was actually happening.
While Hearts blazed a trail from the beginning of the season, and the Ibrox side suddenly became ‘title favourites’ under Danny Röhl, Celtic were written off.
Consigned to finish third, or worse.
A side that had finally run out of steam, and a club that was stuck in stasis, with a board full of old men who had no idea how to take the club forward.
And still don’t, I might add.
Have any idea how to take the club forward, that is.
By October, Brendan Rodgers had resigned, replaced for the interim by Martin O’Neill.
O’Neill managed to steady the ship, and get results back on track.
By November, the club’s ultras, the Green Brigade were banned from Celtic Park for apparently harassing some stewards and police men.
The evidence of this was flimsy at best.
With the club in turmoil, and the fanbase calling for the head of every board member, right up to the principal shareholder, Celtic decided to appoint the 7th best manager in the MLS Eastern Conference.
O’Neill handed the incoming manager the reins with the club level on points with Hearts, and with a League Cup final on the horizon.
The less that is said about the Wilfried Nancy interregnum, the better.
By the time that utterly failed experiment had come to its natural, and expected, conclusion, Celtic were on the canvas.
Four defeats from 6 in the League, and a League Cup final lost with a whimper to relegation threatened St. Mirren.
Floored, literally, and figuratively.
By Hearts, Dundee United, and then embarrassingly, we were taught a footballing lesson at Fir Park by rookie manager Jens Berthel Askou’s Motherwell side.
The final straw for Nancy, who was so far out his depth it was scary, came when Danny Röhl’s ‘title winners’ in waiting came to Celtic Park and left us bloodied and battered.
Down, and out.
Or so it appeared.
To the absolute shock of nobody ever, Michael Nicholson claimed he had no choice but to make a decision when it came to Wilfried Nancy.
This, of course, was the same guy who made the choice to hire him, and told everybody that it had been a painstaking process.
Ultimately, it proved to be a process that caused a hell of a lot of pain, that’s for sure.
Nancy was given his P45, and Martin O’Neill was yanked out of retirement yet again.
We became the laughing stock of the Scottish Premiership.
Everybody agreed that O’Neill had worked miracles before handing the team over to Nancy, but to expect him to do it again?
With our title challenge derailed to the extent it had been?
Well, that was asking far too much of a 74 year old pensioner, wasn’t it?
From credible contenders when he left upon Nancy’s arrival, to literal down and outs upon O’Neill’s return, it was a bridge too far this time.
The best we could hope for was the Scottish Cup.
But the League was gone.
There was no way back for us there.
Now that it’s taken me that long to get to this point, let’s define what would be a deserved title win.
The likes of Kevin Nolan believes we don’t deserve to win the League.
Hearts deserve to win it because they are the first credible title challengers since Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen side won the title in 1985.
They are the quintessential underdogs here.
Not Celtic.
But look at what brought Hearts to where they are now.
They had no extended run in Europe.
They had no extended run in any of the Cup competitions.
In fact, they were knocked out early in both.
Their club, under the guidance of Jamestown analytics, and with Tony Bloom’s influence has been a bastion of serenity in comparison to Celtic.
They have been top of the League since last year.
Who, in this title race, has had it the easier of the last two standing?
Don’t get me wrong, if they win at home to Falkirk tomorrow night, and they get the result they need to win the League at Celtic Park next Saturday, then they will have deserved to win this season’s title.
100%.
I will have no qualms whatsoever with that.
The better team will have won.
But if Celtic get this over the line and win it on Saturday?
To say that it wouldn’t be deserved is ignorant in the extreme.
And this coming from a guy who claims to be a Liverpool and a Celtic supporter?
Celtic and Martin O’Neill would have fought tooth and nail to win this title.
They would have picked themselves up off the canvas when the count was at 9, bloodied, bruised and battered, and pulled the unlikeliest of victories out of the fire.
That, in anybody’s language, would be well deserved.
Not even Derek McInnes could argue with it.
He would have had his chance and blown it from a position of power.
Make no mistake, if we win this, we deserve it.
Performances like Sunday’s prove that much.
If we produce two more performances like that to win this title?
You better believe we deserve it!
And then some!
Key Takeaways
- Kevin Nolan questions whether Celtic deserves to win the title this season, but the author strongly disagrees.
- Celtic faces significant challenges this season, including managerial changes and poor performance, which led many to write them off.
- Despite these struggles, the author believes that if Celtic wins, it would be the most deserved title of the 21st century.
- While Hearts might be seen as underdogs, the author argues their path has not been significantly more difficult than Celtic’s.
- Winning this title would validate Celtic’s hard work, and it would be ignorant to claim otherwise.
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Aodhán Ó Conchobhair 
No mention of our unbelievable injury list this season?……
HH
What nobody is really talking about is that this is not about Hearts stepping up, but them being about average, and Rangers and Celtic, with all of their troubles, significantly under-performing. It is a unique season where not one but both sides of the Old Firm are out of sorts meaning it flatters even a mediocre team that can deliver reasonable form. The maximum points to win the league this season will be 83. For context, over the last ten years, this is what it would have taken to have won the league:
2016-17 Celtic 106
2017-18 Celtic 82
2018-19 Celtic 87
2019-20 Celtic* 80 (shortened season)
2020-21 Rangers 102
2021-22 Celtic 93
2022-23 Celtic 99
2023-24 Celtic 93
2024-25 Celtic 92
This tells me that Celtic and Rangers have gifted Hearts this chance (with good management/stewardship to take advantage). Not that they have suddenly become a new force in Scotland to rival the Old Firm.
That’s a good case made for the defence . With all the obstacles placed in front of us we are on the verge of a very historic season . Not to mention the bad injuries , our board and poor recruitment. Kevin Nolan a celtic supporter . He better do his research because any Celtic supporter I came across knows the extreme lows we have had this season and would rank as one of the top league trophy we have won
Kevin Nolan ???
Who da feck is ???
What has he ever won as a player/coach/manager ???
Did he not win the Eurovision Song Contest with the rest of his singing sisters in between hanging his boots up and getting his nuts cut off ???
As they say in Scouseland………..
A feckin no mark !!!
Like we should give him the oxygen of any attention to his ignorant views.
Let’s see here . Celtic forced to play under 3 different coaches this season ! Celtic having to play without several senior players for 80% of this season because of seriously bad injuries ! Celtic having to play without proper cover to those injured players for the duration because the board are tighter than a brown jockstrap with money , which it has in abundance ! Celtic having to play while this current board were at loggerheads with our influencial fans because they were banned from attending home matches by our very board until 2 weeks ago ! Celtic having to play this season while the board sneered and scoffed at the fans who demanded change for the good of the club ! And the list goes on . So if Mr Nolan thinks Celtic don’t deserve to be Champions this season after all of those trials and tribulations were forced onto the team and squad from very early into the campaign …he must have been a stowaway on the recent round the moon rocket ship ? As the old saying goes ….’ if you don’t go away …how do you expect anyone to miss you ? ‘This will be the most deserving…sweetest …hard earned … genuinely won title for a Celtic FC if it happens in a generation ? A candidate for the best of all in fact !