Training

As we had played on the Tuesday and had another match on the Saturday, training on the Thursday evening was fairly relaxed. Indeed, it was almost enjoyable, not much sweat and very little problems with the ankle.

Sean Fallon had suddenly become my best pal. Don’t forget, I did not know at this time that I was automatically suspended from the next tie in the Cup Winner’s Cup, due the following week. I just though I was out –period! But Sean was quick to be at my side a lot, trying to boost my damaged ego and telling me that it would only be a matter of time before I was back in the first team again. I do know if I altogether believed him but I recognised his sincerity and was grateful for it.

Anyway, when the team list for the reserve-side against St Mirren was pinned up on the board at the end of training, I found that, once again, I was doing my Pele act up front. Now, wouldn’t that have made a fine pairing – Pele and Cairney!

Continue reading →

Playing….but not in the First Team!

While the guys listed on the first team sheet were having a wee rest in bed or getting ready for their pre-match meal before the St Mirren game, I was getting stripped and ready to play for the Second team in a Combined Reserve League match against Jordanhill College at their ground.

Jordanhill lies in the west of Glasgow and the college situated there produced primary school teachers and also male Physical Education teachers (the ladies trained in Edinburgh). As you can imagine, their fitness of the guys in their side was never in doubt and they certainly gave us a good work-out that afternoon.

Our team was; Kennedy, Craig, Halpin, Henderson, McCarron, Hay, ‘Junior’, McGowan, H Quinn, Sweeney and Hughes; we won 3-0, with the goals coming from ‘Junior’, Henry Quinn and Frank McCarron.

It was ‘Big Yogi’s’ first match back after picking up a knee injury in the Inter-League game against England nearly three weeks previously and he looked in good form. One unsettling feature, though, was that the rain poured down the whole match, leaving the pitch wet and muddy. As the West End of Glasgow was not that far from Paisley, one could safely assume that the Love Street pitch was also receiving a battering that afternoon.

Continue reading →

Next Match

The next match was not until the 5^th April and it was against St Mirren at Love Street. The Buddies were struggling, lying in 4^th bottom slot in the table, and would be fighting for their lives. Their stadium in Paisley was very compact, with a pitch that normally held up during the often wet winters in the west of Scotland. And although it was an away match, the Celtic support would not have to travel far to reach the ground.

Continue reading →

On the night following Celtic’s 2-0 victory over Kilmarnock in a league match at Rugby Park, I reported to Parkhead for a reserve game. After having been involved with the first team for a few weeks, I did not really fancy the idea of going back to the second team. And, if I am being perfectly honest, I did not have the foggiest idea who the opposition was?

Continue reading →

Two Big Games

For Celtic fans, there might have been only one big match on the calendar on that evening of the 29^th March 1966 but for Scottish football in general, there were, in actual fact, two matches to consider, as this correspondent in one of the dailies pointed out ;-

Continue reading →

Opponents

Next up for Celtic was Kilmarnock, in a league match down at Rugby Park. The teams had already met during the season in that same competition, on 27^th November 1965, at Parkhead, when Celtic won 2-1. However, the Ayrshire club had made sure it won a fair percentage of its matches against other clubs and going into this game, the respective positions in the table were – Continue reading →

Press Comment

Both semi-finals being held that day – Celtic v Dunfermline at Ibrox and Aberdeen v Rangers at Hampden – received a lot of attention in the morning press. Not surprisingly, the position in which Celtic found themselves was the centre of attention ;-

‘Will Celtic take a step nearer the treble of League Cup, League and Scottish Cup today?

Or can Dunfermline shake off their recent slump and reach their third Final in five years?

Celtic start clear favourites – they must. They have had a wonderful season so far and have the confidence that comes with success. While Dunfermline have had a sticky time recently.

The tag of being the under-dogs is unusual for the Fifers but they don’t mind it one bit. It puts all the pressure on Celtic today, as they try to keep up their fantastic record.

  Continue reading →

Feelings

I had resigned myself to the fact that I might be out for a few weeks. Frankly, in spite of all the treatment I was receiving, the pain in my ankle just refused to go away and I was still feeling it quite stiff when I attempted to run. Continue reading →

Worry

I was getting worried on several fronts at that time. In the first place, I was taking too much time off my studies. Unlike other courses, where you have only to attend lectures, as a student dentist I had to see quite a number of patients and, as I have mentioned before, the collective total in points awarded for treating those patients – the various sums awarded for different types of fillings, or crowns or dentures or scalings and so on – had to reach a certain figure or otherwise I would not be allowed to sit my finals.

I would be allowed to do so once that vital figure was reached – even it that was the following year -but as I had been in the same company as the 51 other guys and gals in my class for the previous five years, I was quite keen to finish at the same time as they would.

Unfortunately, at that time, there was too many distractions taking me away from my studies and there was another example that Monday, when, just before I left for the Dental Hospital, I got a phone call from Celtic Park, Bob Rooney asking me if I could come in that morning for a look at the ankle.

“You are kidding me!” I wanted to scream down the phone but I remained calm and said I would be there, then made a detour to the Dental Hospital to cancel a number of my patients for that day, which meant that there would be ‘nul points’ (as they love to say in the Eurovision Song Contest ) added to my total that particular morning and afternoon.

Continue reading →

Reaction

I could not believe it! Due to my physical endeavors on the Saturday, the tough fitness test then the match, I did not go out on the Saturday evening. Indeed, I went to bed early, hit the pillow and that was it!

But when I woke up on the Sunday morning I felt as it there was a great weight lying in my ankle. And to make things worse, it was throbbing as well. I could hardly get out of bed, far less leave the house and I spent most of the day using hot towels on the ankle, then applying some ice cubes wrapped in plastic. Nowadays, of course, you can just pull a bag of peas out of the freezer but it wasn’t quite so easy in those days! Continue reading →