JOHN Hartson last night backed Celtic to become the first Scottish club to complete 10-In-A-Row – if they can hold on to Parkhead manager Brendan Rodgers.
Hartson’s former club will sew up their seventh consecutive Ladbrokes Premiership title this weekend if they can beat their city rivals Rangers at home on Sunday.
And the former Welsh internationalist can’t see the Glasgow club being caught in the league any time soon as long as Rodgers remains at the helm.
Read more: Steven Thompson: Rangers must at least show some pride as Celtic collect the prizes
The Northern Irishman has been installed as one of the favourites to take over from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal when he departs at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
However, Hartson feels this side can surpass what their predecessors did between 1966 and 1974 and Rangers matched from 1989 to 1997 if he stays where he is.
As it emerged that Rangers had spoken to Liverpool legend and current Anfield Under-18 coach Steven Gerrard, he said: “Ten-in-a-row is going to happen. That’s a stonewaller.
“The only way that doesn’t happen is if Brendan Rodgers decides to leave Celtic, some of the players go with him and they bring in manager that’s not as good as Rodgers.
“If you bring in a Pedro or if you bring in a Delia then that could happen and they could stop it.”
Hartson added: “Celtic are riding the crest of a wave, they are in the ascendancy on and pitch and off the pitch they are levels above.
“They have secured £60 million in the last two years through two Champions League campaigns, they have assets at the club, they get full houses every week, they are used to winning.
“Alright they’ve drawn a few and lost a few this season but that was always going to happen. The expectation just went through the roof last season with the Invincibles.
“I played in a great team and we lost games, we had Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton playing up front and we lost games.”
Hartson, who spent two seasons at Arsenal early in his playing career, is confident that Celtic will hold on to Rodgers, the former Swansea City and Liverpool manager who is under contract at Parkhead until 2021.
“Brendan’s on a contract and I think he loves it at Celtic,” he said. “He says he’s living the dream, he’s a God, he can do no wrong, he’s successful.
Read more: John Aldridge backs friend Steven Gerrard to make it as Rangers manager
“I think Europe is the big question isn’t it? He’ll want to take Celtic a bit further in Europe and to do that he’ll need funds. Celtic haven’t go £50 million to buy a player, they won’t buy players at that, they just won’t do it.
“But he’ll want to take Celtic further in Europe, absolutely. And I think he loves his job.”
Hartson, though, feels that Moussa Dembele, the French striker who is set to start up front for Celtic against Rangers at Parkhead on Sunday, will move on at the end of the season.
He feels the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final win over Graeme Murty’s side at Hampden earlier this month showed that Dembele is capable of playing at the highest level in England or overseas.
“Dembele was just a monster physically,” he said. “The way that he held it up for the first goal and laid it back be-fore it was squared in to (Tom) Rogic, the way that he won the penalty, was impressive.
“When he is in that form you cannot cope with him with the quality of defender that Rangers have. On the evidence of that game, and I know he’s playing against a Rangers back four which was poor, I think he can go as high as he wants to.
“How old is he, 21? Physically, he’s got it. He can cope with the demands of the Premier League. He’s been called up at senior level by France. They know all about him. He’ll be on a lot of clubs’ radars, it’s just a case of Celtic getting as much as they can for him.”
Meanwhile, Hartson, who took 10 games to score for Celtic after joining them for a club record-equalling £6 million transfer fee back in 2001, believes the Parkhead club should be wary of Alfredo Morelos on Sunday despite the Columbian failing to net against them in four matches so far.
“He has just got to keep trying to get in there, “ he said. “I would be more worried for him if he hadn’t had a chance. The goals will come. I thought (Craig) Gordon pulled off a magnificent save in the semi-final.”
The John Hartson Foundation is aiming to raise £1million by 2020.
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