WHEN it comes to the obsessive pursuit of a near-mythical property, only the search for Excalibur itself could rival the relentless quest for 10-in-a-Row.

It is difficult to rationalise why winning a decade of league titles in succession carries significantly more weight than clinching a flawless domestic treble or progressing deep into European competition but, in the neverending Glaswegian game of one-upmanship, nothing matters more.

Give any Celtic fan the hypothetical option of winning a European trophy in the next couple of years but at the cost of domestic success, and you could be confident a fairly large percentage would at least temporarily hesitate. Some might even turn down that imaginary offer. This is what 10-in-a-row means.

Part of the appeal, of course, is that it remains an elusive milestone. Celtic managed nine straight titles under Jock Stein in the 1960s and 70s, and Rangers then matched it under Graeme Souness and then Walter Smith in the1980s and 90s.

The latter’s quest for a tenth title in season 1997/98 turned the west of Scotland, in particular, into a fraught, tense and at times venomous place.

It was not only Celtic fans, then, who breathed a sigh of relief when Rangers failed to overhaul their rivals’ record. Having both stuck on level-pegging was a satisfactory outcome for neutrals who would have safely assumed that, given the subsequent competitiveness of the duopoly, that was how it was destined to stay.

And, yet, here we are. Celtic are edging closer to what would be an eighth successive championship and reference to 10-in-a-row is cropping up again with increasing regularity.

It was surely more than coincidence that when Scott Brown signed his contract extension earlier this week it was to take him up to 2021, the year Celtic could, in theory, win that fabled tenth title. It would be a fitting way for the club captain to bow out.

When Celtic won their first league title for a decade in 1998, their reaction was more relief than jubilation. That season was all about "Stopping the 10". The fact they managed to do it themselves seemed almost secondary. If Aberdeen, Hibernian or Albion Rovers had prevented Rangers from breaking their record, you suspect that would have been fine with Celtic supporters, too.

Now it is Rangers who are on the back foot. They are gradually working their way back after the trauma of liquidation in 2012 and the subsequent trawl through the lower leagues, but remain a far weaker financial entity than Celtic.

It would be foolhardy for Rangers to again consider spending beyond their means to try to bridge that gap but, as the pressure and tension ratchets up the closer it gets to season 2020/21, it is not difficult to imagine the Ibrox club taking another short-term gamble in a desperate attempt to derail Celtic, even if it meant more long-term pain.

Rangers chairman Dave King, of course, has previously tried to deny Celtic are on course for 10 successive titles claiming those won when Rangers weren’t in the top division shouldn’t count. Even if he genuinely believes that himself, it won’t wash with anyone else if it comes to pass, least of all the Rangers supporters for whom the torment from their Celtic-supporting colleagues and friends will be inescapable.

Steven Gerrard, a young manager learning his trade, could do without the additional burden of dealing with this almost mystifying obsession with winning or stopping 10 successive titles, but he will be made increasingly aware of its significance the closer it gets.

There may be other trophies to be won, squads to be constructed, and future plans to be mapped out. But, for many on both sides of the divide, 10-in-a-row is all that matters.

IT was a bit of a bungled announcement but at least Josh Taylor now knows his date with destiny. The Prestonpans super-lightweight will get his first crack at a world title on May 18 back at his favourite venue, the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.

His opponent on that day will be Ivan Baranchyk, who will put his IBF belt on the line in the semi-final of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS).

That hadn’t looked likely the day prior to Thursday’s announcement when Baranchyk’s manager, Dave McWater, said his man would be withdrawing from the tournament over financial concerns and poor communication from the organisers.

A U-turn was then made 24 hours later, although, to add to the confusion, a tweet announcing the fight from Taylor’s Cyclone Promotions team was also subsequently deleted.

Still, the fight is on for now and, for Taylor’s sake, the hope must be that WBSS can solve whatever problems they may be enduring. Baranchyk’s camp was one of several to complain of late payment of their quarter-final purse, and it remains surprising that a tournament of this calibre has been unable to secure a mainstream TV deal.

Taylor had been the mandatory contender for Jose Ramirez’s WBC belt but parked that prospect to instead pursue the WBSS path to world title glory. That could still come to fruition in May, while a win in the final over Regis Prograis or Kiryl Relikh would also give him the WBA belt. All being well Taylor could be a double world champion by the end of the year. This uncertainty over the WBSS, however, adds unnecessary cause for concern.