Celtic easily defeated Motherwell in Glasgow on Sunday but missed out on the Scottish Premier League title.
The Bhoys won 4-0 but a 5-1 victory for Rangers at Kilmarnock ensured that Walter Smith’s men finished a point ahead of their city rivals.
Whilst Rangers were immediately taking control of their clash, Motherwell threatened to take the lead at Celtic through Steve Jones, who pulled a shot from the edge of the box narrowly wide.
Celtic enjoyed a period of dominance thereafter but Motherwell went close again when Shaun Hutchison headed a Tom Hateley corner over the bar from six yards.
However, the hosts had also missed a couple of good chances earlier, and took a not entirely undeserved lead on the half-hour, as Gary Hooper, at the second attempt, stabbed a shot past visiting goalkeeper Lee Hollis from five yards.
Soon before the break, Celtic went two-up. Georgios Samaras collected a fine pass by Charlie Mulgrew and applied an accomplished, side-footed finish.
Substitute Shaun Maloney added the third eight minutes into the second half with a skilful and composed goal, finishing calmly after leaving several defenders stranded.
Paddy McCourt completed the scoring with 20 minutes remaining when he struck from eight yards after Samaras had been disposed in the Motherwell penalty area.
The manner of the victory will surely ensure that Celtic will have a significant edge when they meet Motherwell in the Scottish Cup final, but the disappointment at the end of Saturday’s match at Parkhead was nevertheless clear, with Rangers claiming their third league title in a row.