Paul Lambert insists that Celtic’ s class of 2003 were silverware addicts who came up just short.
The former Hoops skipper doesn’t buy into a school of thought that a combination of domestic and European exertions played a factor in losing their league crown to Rangers and falling at the last hurdle on their Road to Seville.
That extra-time defeat to Porto in the UEFA Cup Final still hurts Lambert but he’s adamant it was bad luck rather than fatigue which cost them in a campaign where they were also pipped to the title on the final day.
The 52-year-old took Record Sport on a stroll down memory lane and insisted the injection of European football creates a natural high for big-time footballers and not the distraction where one trophy takes on more importance than another.
He said: “I’ve never bought into the idea that too many games cost us in that 2003 season, where we lost the UEFA Cup Final and failed to win the league on that dramatic final day.
“I never felt the need to prioritise one trophy over another.
“Success in football is a drug, when you get some success you just want more and more of it.
“We knew we were in big games and it honestly never dawned on any of us that there was an
abundance of games in such a short period of time.
“We had too many big players at Celtic during that era to have a mindset that we could either go for success in Europe or just focus our energy on the league.
“To suggest that is the case at big clubs is a bit of a nonsense and I’ve heard the arguments about Rangers having that same double commitment that we had and that it could be a big factor in deciding the title race,
“I’m just not convinced. If anything we were high as kites with all the big games in Europe and domestically, that helped us.
“That Celtic side I played in just wanted to win both trophies and unfortunately just fell short in both of them.
“Like I said, when you have big players, it doesn’t matter what competition you are in, big players try to win everything and anything they can get their hands on.
“We wanted every trophy we played for and that’s what big players do.
“We did well in the run-in for the title but it just wasn’t enough.
“In the league we just didn’t get the rub of the green and on the Road to Seville we just fell that bit short on the day.”
In that 2002-03 season, Martin O’Neill ’s Celtic went into the last seven games in the league chasing Rangers and Austin McCann’s thunderous winner for Hearts against Celtic at Tynecastle registered their only defeat.
Now, Lambert is convinced that the current Celtic side hold all the aces under Ange Postecoglou as their destiny is firmly in their own hands.
He said: “The easy way to look at it is that if Celtic win all of their remaining seven games then they’ll be champions.
“It’s as simple as that – it’s also easier said than done.
“If they win all of their games then there’s nothing their rivals can do about it as it’ll be enough to win the league.
“That’s the way they should view it, try to win every game and become champions.
“It’s down in black and white, if Celtic win every game then Rangers are powerless to stop them from taking their crown and it’s a brilliant situation to be in.
“Celtic can even afford to draw at Ibrox next weekend and then look to beat Rangers at Celtic Park after the split.
“They are in the driving seat and where they want to be.
“All you can ever ask is to have things in your own hands and that’s the case with Celtic.
“They have their destiny under their own control and there’s nothing any challenger can do about it if they keep on winning.
“The last thing you need is to be waiting for other teams to do you a favour.”
Lambert also sees similarities between Postecoglou and another Celtic managerial favourite and he’s not been taken aback by how quickly the Australian has transformed his old club’s fortunes around.
He said: “I’m not surprised at how quickly Ange has turned things around at Celtic.
“I know when they lost a couple of games at the start of the season there were eyebrows raised and it was very reminiscent of when Wim Jansen arrived as manager.
“Wim lost his first game at Hibs and people were saying that it wasn’t going to be good, but he proved them all wrong.
“Look at that era and that team which went on to win the league in the 1997-98 season against a really strong Rangers side, arguably the strongest Rangers team I came across during that time.
“I look at Ange and I see something similar as he’s been brilliant for Celtic, he’s been great with the media and he’s connected with the fans.
“He’s kept a handle on all of these things and the crowd are following him which is a major factor and he also has the players right behind him.
“I watch them week on week and they seem to be getting stronger and stronger going into this final push.
“This is the business end of the season and it’s when the big players step up and really drive things through.”
