Under the canny stewardship of impish gaffer Martin O'Neill, the Bhoys have enjoyed the most successful start to a league campaign in the history of the Scottish Premier League, and remain in contention in both domestic cups. Celtic's balance sheet performance was less inspiring, with interim sales to 30 December lifting by a paltry 3% to £22.83m (£22.14m) and profits from operations before operating expenses coming in lower at £2.23m (£4.31m). Revenue growth was disappointing as the club played fewer games than in the comparable period last year. This was exacerbated by the club's failure to secure TV money for the UEFA Cup at similar levels to last year. A considerable investment of £15.5m was spent on strengthening the first team squad and the club's youth development programme is moving forward. One positive move to emerge was the 13% leap in merchandising sales, which was driven by the popularity of the away strip sported by the hordes on alternative Saturdays. They won't be pleased to hear that season ticket prices will be going up next season in order to fend off the on-field challenge of the 'Gers.