Rangers manager Steven Gerrard paid tribute to the Ibrox gaffers that came before him as his champions signed off an invincible league season in style.
A 4-0 success over Aberdeen at home concluded their title-winning campaign with a flourish and zero defeats before captain James Tavernier lifted the trophy at full-time.
Gerrard insists he started dreaming of Premiership crown after the January 2 victory over Celtic.
A stodgy away win at Hibs then had him dreaming. But it was only after the late show at Livingston on March 3 that he knew it was in the bag.
Speaking to Sky Sports shortly after receiving a champagne soaking from cheeky Alfredo Morelos, Gerrard quipped: "That's another fine for him!
"It feels good, it's been a while since I've had the smell of champagne.
"Everyone knows what it smells like but because it's been so long I'm actually enjoying it.
"I'm so proud of the boys first and foremost, all the staff. But the main thing is the supporters, these guys know better than me, these guys built the club.
"I was asked to come here at a real difficult time, it had been even more difficult before that.
"I have to pay my respects to the people that helped it get to the point where I took it.
"And then it was about having a vision, getting the right people in the right places, the right support from the board, and then fighting for it. That's what we've done, we've fought every day for three years to get to this point."
Last season a horrendous dip in form after the New Year put paid to Rangers' title ambitions before the Covid pandemic ended the season early and crowned Celtic champions.
But Gerrard rallied the troops for one last throw of the dice to stop 10 In A Row - and the rest is history.
He puts that turnaround down to support from the board in the transfer market and 100 per cent effort from the players.
Gerrard continued: "In this game, over the course of a season, you always fall away for a reason. It's either a dip in form, what's going on on the pitch, or it's a message to yourself and the staff that you may be a few players short and it's about going into the market and getting your recruitment right.
"There's no getting away from it, at times we were too heavily reliant on Alfredo Morelos, Jermain Defoe.
"I think bringing Kemar Roofe in, bringing Cedric Itten in, keeping Ryan Kent when there was real serious interest, that was big from this board.
"We definitely got the last transfer window right and then it's about using the hurt and setback to drive you on more.
"I think the way the season was curtailed last year gave us a chance to reset. And from the first day of pre-season, those guys have given me everything and more.
Asked when he realised when the title was coming back to Ibrox, he replied: "We played Celtic here, a real key game after the New Year, and we didn't play well.
"Especially in the first half, but we won the game. As a staff we said to ourselves, 'this is a really good place to be in'.
"If we can beat the main challenge by not being at our best, that was a key game. Then we moved on through the months, I think Hibs away was a massive game, that was a real statement.
"In previous seasons that might have been a game where we'd come unstuck but we found more steel, more desire.
"That was the big moment and the Livingston away, unfortunately I got the red card and was looking down from the top, but that was the final corner and we knew we were on the home straight."
