players settled in, the team began to recover ground lost to O'Neill's ageing Celtic side. Boumsong, in particular, was a marked success, but he was sold in January 2005, after only six months at the club, to then Premier League side Newcastle United (managed by former Gers boss Graeme Souness) for £8 million. This cash paved the way for more signings, including Thomas Buffel, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and the return of Barry Ferguson. The 2005 Scottish League Cup Final, in March 2005, ended in a 5–1 victory over Motherwell; the league, however, appeared to have been lost. Despite catching and overtaking Celtic (with two Old Firm wins, including a pivotal 2–0 victory at Celtic Park in what was McLeish's first win there as Rangers manager), a loss to their city rivals, in the last derby of the season at Ibrox, handed Celtic a five-point lead with only four games remaining, and seemed to end hopes of the title. Rangers kept its winnings way, however, and Celtic's 3–1 home defeat to Hibernian meant only two points separated the sides going into the final game of the season. Rangers needed to win at Hibernian and hope that Celtic would drop points at Fir Park. In perhaps even more dramatic circumstances than two years previously, Motherwell overcame a 1–0 deficit, with two goals in injury time from Scott McDonald, to defeat the Parkhead side, while Rangers edged out a tight single-goal victory at Easter Road. The helicopter that was carrying the league trophy was on its way to Motherwell, so it had to turn around and fly to Edinburgh. That day has passed into Ibrox folklore, becoming known as Helicopter Sunday. McLeish could celebrate his second, and Rangers' 51st, league title. The 2005–06 season saw Rangers win six league games out of the first 17, being knocked out of the League Cup by Celtic in the process. The period from October through to early December saw the team embark on, statistically, the worst run in their history, going ten games without a win. During this time, however, the club became the first Scottish side to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, yet there was still significant pressure on McLeish from fans due to the club's poor position in the domestic league table. After a period of uncertainty around the manager's future, David Murray stated that McLeish would remain in charge indefinitely,