Keeping up with the neighbours leaves Smith craving moonbeams and miracles

All Walter Smith is now asked to do with Rangers is deliver the success of 1997 with the finances of 2007. Bernard Thompson explains why that's easier said than done

By Bernard Thompson

Guardian

What a difference a decade makes. You gain experience but also age, some ambitions are realised

while other hopes are surrendered; you move onwards and upwards or decline. All are things for

Moonbeam-provider & miracle-worker: Murray and Smith

Walter Smith to ponder on Saturday.

On August 4 1997, Rangers unfurled another championship flag, kicking off what they hoped would be the club's 10th - and Smith's seventh - consecutive Scottish league title. Around £15m had been spent in the close season.

The chairman Sir David Murray insisted that for every £5 the impoverished Celtic spent, Rangers would splash out a tenner. They had just negotiated one Champions League qualifying round and seen off a string of helpless or hapless Celtic managers - Liam Brady, Lou Macari and Tommy Burns - with Wim Jansen barely threatening to disturb the peace in Smith's blue heaven.

He could scarcely have imagined then that, long before the end of that season, he would be redefined as yesterday's man. It must have been even more unthinkable that 10 years on he would be looked upon as the last hope for tomorrow. How did it come to this?

Like all well-balanced Scots, Rangers fans have nursed a chip on each shoulder. Matching Celtic's nine-in-a-row record of Scottish league titles salved the wound on one side. The problem persisted on the other - they had never seriously threatened to match their rivals' 1967 European Cup victory (a Cup Winners' Cup in 1972 hardly compensating).

It is only possible to begin to understand how Smith and Rangers came to be where they are now - trophyless for two seasons and with modest funds to remedy the problem - by appreciating the recklessness of their obsession with matching Celtic's achievement. As far back as 1989, the then newly-appointed chief executive Alan Montgomery had declared that "Rangers must win the European Cup". It was a typical example of defiance overriding realism.

But Smith's failure to make a major impact in Europe - the finest moment probably being the home-and-away defeat of Leeds United in 1992, later missing out on a Champions League final place by one point - led to the clamour for something new.

Like Dick Advocaat, for example.

"Believe me when I tell you that we are going for it this time - we want to be successful in Europe, and the money we are raising now will take us there," Murray boasted of a team that, by then, contained Arthur Numan, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Michael Mols. "This is the last part of the jigsaw for me ..."

The puzzle was that lavish expenditure delivered two league titles and some exciting European performances, notably eliminating a formidable Parma from the Champions League in 1999, but little else to show for financial crisis.

The arrival of Martin O'Neill having prompted Rangers to move swiftly on, Alex McLeish was asked to keep pace with Celtic while replacing high earners with radically cheaper alternatives. His record - two cups within six months of his appointment, a domestic treble in his first full season, a second title in 2005 and reaching the last 16 of the Champions League - set the context for a rueful but masterfully understated parting comment: "I'm sure those people who look at the facts will say that during a period of downsizing, I was reasonably successful."

But it must also be said that his tenure also coincided with Rangers' worst-ever run of competitive results and a record string of Old Firm defeats. He was pushed out by popular demand.

Turning to Paul Le Guen was bold, imaginative and seemingly unrealistic but demonstrative of a degree of audacity that Murray has often matched with persuasiveness to great effect. Le Guen described Murray's overtures as having "such force, such charisma and enthusiasm, that it gave it an extra dimension ... He's the kind of guy who can't leave you indifferent." Even more typical of Murray was his display of hubris in heralding a "moonbeam of success".

One brief, unmitigated disaster later, Rangers were returning to the man who self-evidently could not win the trophy they most covet.

Why Smith should have taken on the job when his reputation was at its highest after a short but successful period as coach of Scotland could easily be said to defy understanding. For sure, he must have found it irksome to see the fate that befell Rangers after his talents were considered inadequate for a club with European issues. Could he have felt he had something to prove, given that no manager since the legendary Bill Struth had brought more league titles to Ibrox? Sometimes in football logic, self-interest and common sense count for little compared to the innate sense that a club is in the blood of some individuals.

These days Sir David Murray doesn't even try to pretend he could double Celtic's spending, having lost out on Derek Riordan, Paul Hartley, Scott MacDonald and Scott Brown in the past 18 months. Murray's recent insistence that the club could have afforded the £4.4m transfer fee that took Brown from Hibs, but not his salary and add-on fees, is an indication that Smith faces the managerial challenge of his career. Last Monday the club announced that its debt has risen to £16.5m.

In the past Rangers have invested their finances with the shrewdness of a gambler on tilt. But contrasting the money wasted over the years with the more prudent acquisitions provides a lesson and Smith's best hope: the price ticket isn't always the best guide to quality, even if it is fun to be flash in front of the neighbours.

Smith once squandered £4m on Sebastián Rozental but gave an unknown Rino Gattuso his first big chance. The £12m Advocaat spent on Tore André Flo was outshone by his nurturing the talent of Barry Ferguson. McLeish, with little money to waste, landed Kris Boyd: to the purist, hardly even a footballer; to the statistician, an outrageously prolific goalscorer.

Now, as they prepare for the second leg of a vital Champions League qualifier with FC Zeta - after a first leg that, despite the 2-0 win, ranks among the club's worst European performances - the bombast is muted and Murray's summation of the club's fortunes drably pragmatic: "If we are in the Champions League we make £5m, if not we lose £5m." He is also now talking publicly of selling up.

And all Smith is now asked to do is deliver the success of 1997 with the finances of 2007. So Roy Carroll, Carlos Cuellar, Lee McCulloch and Jean-Claude Darcheville will be tasked with emulating the achievements of Andy Goram, Richard Gough, Brian Laudrup and Mark Hately. In other words, Smith must deliver a miracle - or at least a moonbeam.

Strachan could prove better than O'Neill

Just as they were too quick to beatify Martin O'Neill, Celtic fans have been to slow to praise

By Bernard Thompson

Published in The Guardian


Consider this: Celtic have been Scottish champions for the past two seasons, are Scottish Cup

For better, for worse?: Martin O'Neill & Gordon Strachan

holders, were encouraged by a decent Champions League showing last season, are financially stable and are in a position to add to an already-solid squad. So it would be absurd to suggest manager Gordon Strachan is under pressure to deliver more, right?

Wrong. Because to say that is to fail to factor in the peculiar rationale that applies to Scottish football and Celtic supporters. Celtic fans are practised in castigating journalists for failing to adequately praise their team - while they themselves disdain the club's success on the most flimsy of excuses. This makes Strachan's position uncomfortable. Just as the media has been oddly reluctant to recognise his achievements in coasting to two league titles while radically rebuilding his squad, Celtic fans remain divided as to whether he is worthy of their favour.

Why? It would be dangerous to try too hard to understand such an unhealthy mindset. Certainly Strachan's cheeky-chappie remarks have rubbed some people up the wrong way, even if he has been more reserved than during his time in England. And fans will vociferously deny that the perception that he is "not Celtic-minded" (a euphemism for those not from the appropriate cultural background) has any relevance. But however hard he tries to please, whatever he delivers, there is one thing he can never be: Martin O'Neill.

O'Neill and fans gorged on trophies, rousing European nights and the reflected glory of Henrik Larsson's heroics. The manager became so revered that his replacement would almost inevitably be viewed as a usurper.

Few admit that such excitement led to the premature beatification of a man never deserving of an elevation to sainthood. The tangible legacy he left to Strachan was a squad that had feebly capitulated in the league and was saddled with the ruinous salaries offered to a small band of underperforming "established stars".

It was no surprise that only Neil Lennon remained as a key figure in Strachan's Celtic. It was equally predictable that those who left would find success elusive. Only Stephen Pearson, who rarely played under O'Neill, has gone on to excel away from Celtic Park.

Strachan's eminently sensible approach to signing players is in stark contrast to O'Neill's hair-tearingly frustrating last-minute method. The Irishman delivered Lennon, Chris Sutton and John Hartson but inflicted a torrid season on Juninho (a player O'Neill could afford but apparently find no use for) and the club remains burdened with Bobo Baldé on a contract that would put a Philadelphia lawyer to shame.

Strachan, on the other hand, has developed a squad based on scouting and research that is probably unsurpassed in British football (including a database of around 1500 names) and a simple but effective approach that allows the club to retain the upper hand in negotiations. To businessmen in any other industry, it's plain common sense to pursue multiple options before making any major financial outlay but too often in football, clubs zero in on one target to the point of obsession, and as a result wind up overpaying. By conducting simultaneous negotiations with several players before deciding on the best overall option for the club, Celtic under Strachan have managed to make genuine quality signings such as Artur Boruc, Shunsuke Nakamura, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Lee Naylor and Scott Brown without ever threatening hard-earned financial security.

In the case of Naylor, for example, Celtic were actively pursuing Sparta Prague's Michael Kadlec but still held talks with Quinton Fortune while Gary Naysmith and Ian Harte were also heavily touted options. When the Kadlec deal foundered due to Sparta allegedly attempting to re-evaluate the deal near the point of completion, and with Fortune, Naysmith and Harte falling off the radar, the swift signing of Naylor was a surprise move but one that secured Celtic's most consistent performer of last season.

And while "esteemed manager" O'Neill publicly challenged the money men at the club, Strachan apparently understands the value of getting on with the boss, recently praising his relationship with chief executive Peter Lawwell. In the past, that sort of cooperation with bureaucracy would have been seen as sacrilegious at Celtic but, having built a system around the manager, Lawwell has been a major contributor to the on-field advancement. In turn, Strachan, rarely a man to hold back with criticism, clearly trusts Lawwell enough to allow him to change the focus on deals, apparently without friction.

Critics inevitably point to the poor displays of Mo Camara and Adam Virgo, both of whom were signed within days of Strachan taking the Celtic job. Then again even Martin O'Neill had his Steve Guppy and Momo Sylla moments. Equally, Thomas Gravesen and Jiri Jarosik made only lukewarm contributions to last season's success but, unlike the latter years of Baldé and Alan Thompson, both remain viable options as players whether at Celtic Park or elsewhere.

Thompson and Gravesen's differing fortunes also illustrate a disparity in emphasis on the balance between tactical cohesion and favoured personnel. Irrespective of form, Thompson seemed to be guaranteed a starting place under O'Neill, most farcically filling a central midfield role while Stiliyan Petrov was banished to the right to make room. It should have been no surprise that such decisions contributed to a final season of collapse.

Gravesen, on the other hand, has been told publicly that he won't play if he can't follow instructions on positioning. Still, the Dane insists he wants to fight for a first team place while Thompson struggles for a first team. Of course it should be remembered that the ever-generous O'Neill indulged Paul Lambert with a final lucrative contract and time off mid-season to pursue German coaching qualifications while Celtic struggled in the league.

Given his remarkable performance so far, Strachan really ought to be allowed to at least borrow the Teflon halo that O'Neill took to the midlands with him. Instead, the only way he's likely to escape being branded a flop is to overclock his team with a dazzling domestic treble and/or a triumphant march to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, or further.

Infamously, while playing for Aberdeen, Strachan was once assaulted by a fan in the very ground where he now makes his living. He could be forgiven if, just sometimes, he felt as if the kicking had never stopped.

Hamilton 1 Airdrie Utd 1: Hamilton checkmate

Bernard Thompson at New Douglas Park

Sunday September 18 2005, 1.00am, Appeared in  The Sunday Times

Airdrie United had by far the better start with Hamilton owing much to David McEwan in goal. After only six minutes he had palmed away a Stephen McKenna effort while eight minutes later former Accie Brian McPhee shot over from seven yards.

Graeme Jones managed to nod the ball against a post but Airdrie were the more dangerous side and deserved Willie McLaren’s goal on 31 minutes. McLaren did well to round a defender and commit McEwan before driving a low shot past him from 10 yards. For the next half-hour Airdrie looked likely to secure all three points but their grip on the game was undone with the arrival of Pat Keogh.

On 51 minutes Lee Hollis had to look sharp to save his effort, pouncing on the rebound when Brian Carrigan’s free-kick hit wood. And the big striker was heavily involved in the equaliser, diving to head against Hollis before Scott MacKenzie tucked the ball away from the rebound.

Gary Twigg went close for the Diamonds and Mark McLaughlin headed over for the home team. Hamilton boss Billy Reid wanted a penalty when Jones went down in the last minute and for his part Sandy Stewart was sceptical as to the fairness of Keogh’s challenge for the leveller.

STAR MAN: David McEwan (Hamilton)

Player ratings. Hamilton: McEwan 7, Robertson 7, Fleming 6, Thomson 6, McLaughlin 7, Neil 7, Tunbridge 6 (Keogh 49min, 7), Wilson 6, Jones 5, MacKenzie 7, Carrigan 7.

Airdrie United: Hollis 6, McKenna 7, Dunn 7, McGowan 6, McManus 7, Barkey 6, McPhee 7 (Hardie 71min, 4), McKeown 7, Prunty 6, Twigg 7 (McDougall 80min, 4), McLaren 7.

Scorers: Hamilton: MacKenzie 63

Airdrie Utd: McLaren 31

Bookings: Wilson 89

Referee: Stuart Dougal

Attendance: 2,229

Hamilton 0 Partick Thistle 1: All too easy for Escales

 BERNARD THOMPSON AT NEW DOUGLAS PARK

Sunday August 22 2004, The Sunday Times

The 1-0 scoreline may imply a close encounter and there were chances for both sides. In terms of quality, however, Hamilton Academical found that star performers in the lower division can become journeymen in another league.

The vital goal came from Juan Ramon Escales in the 31st minute. Jean-Yves Anis played in a fine pass which found Escales in the Accies penalty area. He killed the ball and threw a feint which deceived Hamilton’s David McEwan, before dispatching his chance like a player anticipating greater things in the future.

In the ninth minute, home striker Brian Carrigan fired a shot wide, but Hamilton never truly threatened the visitors.

In the second half the disparity was greater still, with Thistle finding certainty in their play as some Hamilton players toiled.

Escales again caused problems in the 61st minute and laid on a gift that Leigh Hinds casually scorned. The Thistle strikers’ roles were reversed 12 minutes later, Hinds this time finding Escales, who shot wide.

Hinds was later replaced by Armand Oné, who was strong on the ball but weak in his understanding of the offside rule. But with Hamilton’s key players struggling, Derek Whyte and Gerry Britton, the co-managers of Partick, would have enjoyed a match that may say much of the relative aspirations of the two teams in the season ahead.

Hamilton: McEwan, Walker, Thomson, McLaughlin, Waddell, Hamilton, Aitken, Tunbridge (Blackadder 64min) Carrigan (Convery 74min), Keogh, Corcoran

Partick T: Arthur; Gibson, Dowie, Murray, Anis, Milne (Panther 79min), Fulton, Mitchell, Fleming, Escales, Hinds (Oné 75min)

Scorer: Escales 31

Referee: C Thomson

Attendance: 3,543

You'll never dive alone

By Bernard Thompson

Published in the irish Times new media edition

A-a-ah, the little soul! There he was in his bestest footy gear, ready to watch his favourite team in their first ever Champions League match. He looked just like an athletic pixie. All excited he was. But his disappointment was heartbreaking when a dodgy penalty spoiled it. He stamped his feet and clenched his little fists but it was no good. Celtic had lost. Yes, it was a tough week for Martin O'Neill.

What a rotter that Nicola Amoruso was! He Fosberry flopped to get Juventus the three points. He cheated, Ref, he cheated! He's admitted as much himself. Chris Sutton has never done anything like that. His penalty collapse was clearly just.

Celtic players never cheat or play dirty - no, no, no. Celtic players know nothing of gymnastic floor exercises. Celtic players are hard but fair like "rugged" Neil Lennon and "clumsy tackler", Alan Thompson, who have tattooed players all over Scotland, with their stud marks. They're just professional and Calimero was right: "eet's an eenjustees eet ees".

In truth, moans aside, Celtic did perform outstandingly well in Turin and the League form continued to hold up with a 2-0 win over Aberdeen. Now, though, they start from scratch against Porto. O'Neill's animated protests in Turin earned him a one-match touchline ban, to be served on Tuesday. Barring him from the dressing room, though, makes sense only in the minds of UEFA officials. I pray never to understand such logic. Celtic's away showings in Turin and Amsterdam suggest that a draw would not be disastrous but defeat would make their prospects look pretty gloomy.

At Ibrox, on the other hand, there are unconfirmed sightings of smiles. They caned Dundee Utd, 6-1, on Saturday and looked almost stylish in doing so. UEFA have just about seen sense and moved the tie with Anzhi Makhachkala, to a neutral venue, (albeit in a single-leg match) and if they get through the next week unbeaten, things might finally take a turn for the better.

Playing in midfield, rather than defence, Bert Konterman looks like a football player rather than a comedian. Fernando Ricksen has yet to have an emotional incident, this season. And the unfairly criticised Tore Andre Flo will have taken more confidence from his three goals at the weekend. All this with Barry Ferguson's return and the presence of Craig Moore gives Rangers a real chance of taking something from the first Old Firm game on Sunday.

As for our other European representatives, Hibs indulged in second-half panic against an AEK Athens side that they were coming to grips with to make my backing of them look rather silly. Unabashed, and a frustrated Russian Roulette player, I am still going to stake everything on them somehow overcoming AEK, who have better players. Kilmarnock's 1-1 home draw with Viking Stavangar doesn't make them look like great bets to go through, either, but I will also stick with them to overcome. My motivation in this is to delay admitting that I was wrong until I have thought of a decent excuse for my poor judgement.

Even these disappointments pale next to the fate of Billy Davies. The first Scottish manager of the season to be mutually consented can curse his bad luck. Respected by his peers and admired by his subordinates, he had produced decent results before the wholesale selling of his squad. His team were also fitting standard-bearers for the town of Motherwell: dull, depressing and often absolutely filthy. On the bright side, it is claimed that Marius Lacatus and Walter Zenga are among 40 serious candidates to have expressed an interest the job. Others include Harvey, Sasquatch and Howling Jake from my local boozer.

Finally, sincere thanks to those big lumps in the international rugby scene. I had considered panning Martin O'Neill for losing his head in Turin but nothing makes me appreciate association football as well as rugby union's contemptible game. My upper lip is snarled, not stiff. I want to hear songs slandering referees, not "Bye Bye Blackbird". And in my book, tunnels are for pushing and shoving opponents - not applauding them.

For all the current whines about cheating, it is in football that players can say, "I took a dive - get over it." It is in the game of soccer that managers blow fuses while apoplectic fans vent spleen at the pitch or throw tellies out of windows. There is a passion, a spontaneity and, damn it, an honesty that the jolly good show of 15-man rugby will never elicit. So keep chopping them down, Neil. Splutter your words of anger, Martin. And you Chris, as long as you play for Celtic, dive on. And you'll never dive alone.

Would the Old Firm just sod aff?

By Bernard Thompson

Published in the Irish Times new media edition

Hurrah! The football’s back and Scotland is echoing to the sound of sated men burping in contentment. We have had the first European action already and, if that fact was an indictment on recent performances, it still allows us to boast that our teams can handle anything that Slovenia can throw at us. Happy days.

But these times are happier for some than for others. Dermot Desmond’s assertion that the Old Firm will inevitably move to the Premiership has sparked the usual mixture of salivation and spluttering anger. For once, Celtic seem to be leading while Rangers officials are nodding in agreement.

David Murray, who has always insisted that Rangers are fully committed to Scotland, is now "coming round to the idea". According to Murray, he is starting to suspect that the rest of Scotland’s clubs would be better off without the Old Firm.

That suggestion is nonsense, of course. Rangers and Celtic have always propped up the smaller Scottish clubs and Murray was being more realistic when he predicted that eight to ten of them could go bust, even with the help of the big two. However, there is much talking to be done, although Celtic’s chairman, Brian Quinn, insists that everyone, to whom he has spoken, views the idea favourably.

One factor that must be overcome is the barring, from UEFA competitions, of any club that does not play in its own country’s primary league. It has emerged that the Welsh clubs, Swansea City, Cardiff City and Wrexham are currently banned because they play in England. Presumably, this would also apply to the proposed Atlantic League, which is still being discussed.

On the field, the start to the season was unusually good with at least three goals scored in every match. Dick Advocaat is already planning for the contest with Fenerbahce, after Rangers' 3-0 away win over NK Maribor.

The Gers also beat Aberdeen by the same score, at Pittodrie, in a match that, for once, failed to explode into a blood-letting. The Rangers goals came from each of their new signings, Christian Nerlinger, Russell Latapy and Claudio Caniggia and there is room for hope at Ibrox. If they can steer clear of unrest or misfortune, for a few weeks, they look certain to challenge very strongly for the title, this year.

Celtic’s own 3-0 win, over St Johnstone, was unspectacular but efficient. The result was less talked about than the speculation about whether the club or certain players would be moving. Stephane Mahe seems to be bound for Hearts as may be either Jonathan Gould or Stewart Kerr. The latter two are redundant at Celtic and Hearts, who are set to sell Anti Niemi, need a replacement urgently.

But who is coming in? Matt Elliott is touted as a stick-on certainty to sign this week while O’Neill’s admiration for the Battler of Wounded Knee, John Hartson, endures. Unfortunately, with a Champions League transfer deadline looming, Coventry seem to be trying to turn the screw by demanding "seven million of your Scottish pounds". Also mooted are moves for Fiorentina’s Moreno Torricelli and Tomas Repka as well as Magnus Hedman.

Now, all of this Old Firm stuff is pretty much par for the course in the Scottish Premier League. However, it would be remiss to fail to highlight two far rarer events. Firstly, Livingston played their first ever top division game and won it, beating Hearts by two goals to one. Livingston look like providing a model for success with a small club, much of it based on stadium development, and they have a real chance of sustaining SPL status.

But the first leaders of the SPL are Dunfermline. The Pars, who are managed by the talented Jimmy Calderwood, beat probable relegation candidates, Motherwell, by five goals to two. It will probably be the only time, this season, that neither Celtic nor Rangers are top dogs so the fans in the Kingdom of Fife are entitled to live royally for a few days. However, I wonder if this brief success might prompt greater hedonistic dreams: "We could be Scottish Champions if the Old Firm would just sod aff!"

Oh, to be Irish in Paradise

By Bernard Thompson

Published in the Irish Times new media edition

 When Celtic lifted the Scottish Cup, to secure the domestic treble, a huge step was taken towards the restoration of the club's reputation. In these days of football clubs being described in terms of their brand identity, Celtic's association with failure and defeat was damaging to more than the morale of the supporters.

For that, Martin O'Neill will have the eternal gratitude of the marketing executives who attempt to promote Celtic worldwide. However, an even more profound change took place over the last twelve months and that was the resurrection of a sense of Irishness at Celtic Park.

It is no secret that the Irish in Britain were not always exactly welcomed. It is unsurprising, then, that the Irish in Glasgow and beyond should cling to a club that was founded to assist the poorest of their number. For generations, Scots-born Protestants, like Jock Stein, seemed comfortable with the profile of a club that was open to all but proud of its links across the Irish Sea.

That began to change in the Fergus McCann era. With the "Bhoys Against Bigotry" campaign, McCann made genuine, well-intentioned efforts to distance Celtic from sectarianism but, at times, the political correctness seemed to resemble a symbolic cleansing of Celtic's image. In a country in which singing The Soldier's Song is regarded as bigoted behaviour, there was a suspicion that Celtic were trying to eradicate all mention of Ireland.

But McCann's departure enabled the first of three extremely influential Irishmen to come to prominence. Dermot Desmond became the club's major shareholder and the most powerful man at Celtic. In terms of popular perception, little changed. Desmond always suffered by false comparisons with David Murray at Rangers. The Scottish press have tended to expect Desmond to match the spending - and high-risk strategy - of Murray, despite sound legal and structural impediments on his doing so.

Still, it is easier to convey, to the general public, the simpler message: "If Rangers can do it, why can't we?" With Desmond's reluctance to embark on any personal PR campaigns, there was little fresh enthusiasm for Ireland amongst the support, a substantial part of which complied with the "denial of roots" culture.

That has changed since the appointment of Martin O'Neill. No breast-thumping patriot, O'Neill is an unlikely leader of a reawakening of ethnic consciousness. Nevertheless, he is unafraid to be seen for who and what he is. In many ways, his expression of Irishness that is neither apologetic nor ostentatious is precisely what Celtic should have been aspiring to in the reinvention of the club.

There is also more to his importance in this matter than his success. The quiet, dignified but strong personality that O'Neill transmits to the supporters contributes to making him the first manager since Billy McNeill, to fulfil the role of icon, which Celtic fans crave.

Part of O'Neill's success has been his ability to appear to be a father-figure to the entire Celtic community. In that atmosphere, it is unthinkable that the Irishness of Celtic could be undermined.

The next link in the chain came with the purchase of Neil Lennon. There are Celtic players who are more talented than Lennon but few who are more effective and he has no peers in terms of commitment. The fact that he rejected a higher salary to articulate his passion for Celtic began a process of endearment that could see Lennon accede to legendary status.

The taunts and threats that the move brought on him only strengthened a level of support that was already bordering on hero-worship. If ever a player looked to be a likely captain of any club, it is Neil Lennon with Celtic.

But could he yet have one more rival? Roy Keane's avowed desire to play for Celtic presents another intriguing prospect. There is a (perhaps misplaced) general presumption that Keane's undoubted ability equates to Martin O'Neill's desire to sign him. But, if Keane should become a Celtic player, while still at his peak, the level of Celtic hysteria might threaten to overwhelm even the captain of Ireland.

Let there be no doubt that Celtic is a Scottish club. At the same time, there are lessons to be learned from a recent academic study, which compared the experiences of Irish Scots with those of American blacks. It also found that anti-Irish hostility engendered a hesitancy in acknowledging Irish heritage. Perhaps, then, people at Celtic could be forgiven for paraphrasing James Brown: "Say it loud - Irish and proud."