2nd September 1966
The win over Clyde in the penultimate match of the league cup sectional games had put Celtic into the quarter-final stages of the League Cup. That inevitably meant that training on the following days – while still strenuous – was conducted in a pleasant atmosphere, not always the case on a training ground.
The fact that Celtic had qualified for the quarter-finals was also encouraging for me and my efforts to get back in the first team. Surely the Boss would take advantage of the fact that the match against St Mirren had suddenly become a non-event – as regards qualification for the later stages – and he might take the opportunity to give some of the players on the fringe of things a chance to show what they could do.
That was what I was hoping for, at any rate, and my chances went up a notch when I was not included in the team for the Reserve League Cup tie against St Mirren that afternoon at Barrowfield.
The Celtic team was John Fallon, Ian Young, Frank McCarron, Sammy Henderson, John Cushley, David Hay, John Taggart, George Connelly, Jimmy Quinn, Tony Taylor and John Hughes. Celtic won comfortably 4-0, the goals coming from Tony, Ian, Jimmy and John Taggart.
Just before I left the park that morning, I was told to report for the match against St Mirren the following day. And that was the only time the match was mentioned to me. Frustrating…or what!
3rd September
On the morning of the match, I got up early to find out if the papers knew more than I did. Two matches got a mention. The first was ours, with this headline –
Hughes in Reserve Team
Well, we all knew that, as he had played in the reserve side the previous evening. But the next piece of news was more interesting, as least as far as I was concerned ;-
‘Celtic list 13 for Love Street…the 11 who played at Shawfield, plus Jim Craig and Charlie Gallagher’.
There was also some news from the other side of the divide. Rangers needed to beat Kilmarnock that day at Rugby Park to qualify from their section and the fact that they had not been too consistent brought out this headline;-
No Rangers Panic
And there was a clarification about some possible opponents for Celtic. The Brazilian club Santos have accepted a challenge to play Celtic at Parkhead only if they are provided with a 3-game tour of Great Britain. This was reported in the papers under the headline –
Santos Tell Celtic – We Want £50,000
A Warning
The Prime Minister faced the Trade Union Council and its members at Blackpool today – and warned them of the risks of another 1931-style depression, with unemployment running between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000.
Harold Wilson arrived all smiles and handshakes with old union friends. But his speech was deliberately tough.
Star In Green and Brown
A small group of people who gathered outside the Open Arms Hotel at Dirleton today got a glimpse of the French film star Brigitte Bardot.
She is filming location shots for the film ‘Two Weeks in September’.
Miss Bardot, dressed in a green Shetland jumper and brown corduroy trousers, posed for photographers in the hotel garden, where a table had been laid for a breakfast of porridge, marmalade, rolls and coffee.
Whither art thou!
Albion Rovers director Tom Fagan is searching for 3 men – but, for a change, they are not football players.
He is on the lookout for relatives of three of the original 4 committee members of the now-defunct Albion Rovers United Brake Club, formed over 40 years ago.
One of the original silver badges issued to founders at that time – there were 4 in total – came into Mr Fagan’s possession recently. Now he is trying to find out where the other three are.