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Former Celtic skipper hopes old club can claim title “on merit” to avoid “asterisk next to their name”

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Former Hoops skipper Gary Caldwell believes that Celtic won’t want to be awarded the title without completing the full league captain despite the comments of Neil Lennon.

Speaking on Sky Sports (via The Scottish Sun), Caldwell is the latest to wade into the fixture row currently engulfing Scottish football as the coronavirus takes hold of all aspects of society and normal life.

So what has Caldwell said?

The retired Scotland international centre-half said of the crisis facing the game north of the border:

“I’m unsure when that could start back up again and how you would fit the games in. I’m sure everyone within the official Scottish FA and English FA will be looking at options and, when it does resume, how they can squeeze the games in.”

“But we don’t know when that’s going to happen yet. When it does, they can look at putting a fixture list in place. My own opinion on it would be to finish the leagues whenever that can be because nobody would want a little asterisk next to their name.”

“I think the relegation is probably even bigger than who wins the league because of the financial implications that would happen to Hearts. Obviously, with it being a little tighter at the bottom, that situation can change if the games get played.”

“That is a really difficult decision for whoever has to make that, but I hope at some point we can finish the games and give the league winners the title on merit.”

So is Caldwell correct?

The SFA and SPFL are still a long way from making any decisions on what may or may not happen to the Scottish Premiership title after UEFA’s announcement that the 2020 European Championships has been postponed freeing up potential space in the summer to complete fixtures – if it is safe to do so.

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How many points clear are Celtic at the top of the league?

The biggest issue facing most clubs just now is player contracts if the season is extended beyond the 30th of June when most will be due to end, it is still unclear if governing bodies will allow loan spells to be extended or if the window opens on the 1st of July whether or not new signings would be able to play in what was technically “last season”.

Caldwell has a point, having an asterisk next to their name would always stick in the back of the throat of Celtic minded folks but, given their current lead at the top of the table and the sheer dominance of his former side throughout the season – points dropped in just four fixtures – it was a matter of when not if they retain their title.

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