I recently had the opportunity of asking ex Celtic favourite Peter Grant 

some questions on his thoughts and memories of playing for the hoops. 

His answers below show that Peter has lost none of his love for the bhoys. 

Our thanks go to Peter for taking the time out from his duties as player coach

with AFC Bournemouth. 

We will be getting the thoughts of other former players on their memories of 

starring for the hoops throughout the season.

If there are any particular players you would like us to interview then 

please feel free to drop us an e-mail and we will try to get this fixed up. 

The e-mail address is mdinning@yahoo.com   

Q1 Peter what was your first recollection of your love

for the hoops?

A. Both Grandparents ran supporters Buses, My first game was Celtic 

loosing 2 - 1 to St Johnstone at Muirton Park, Perth.

Q2 What was the most memorable game you can remember

playing for Celtic?

A. A week after my debut at Ibrox playing against Hibs at Celtic Park, 

part of a dream fulfilled running out in front of the Old Jungle.

Q3 Who do you rate as being your most difficult

opponent whilst playing for Celtic?

A. Of all players it was Rodowdo in a friendly against Real Madrid, 

closest I got was shaking hands at the end of the match.

Q4 Who is the player you most admire and who you have seen

playing for Celtic & what player did you most admire

who played along side you whilst starring for the

club?

A.Kenny Dalglish and Bobby Murdoch, both wonderful players. 

  Danny McGrain - wonderful player and professional.

Q5 Can you remember your first goal for the club?

A. Against Airdrie in the Skol Cup at Broomfield.

Q6 What are the best and worst grounds you have played

   at in your career?

A. Dortmund and Celtic Park are the best, 

   Douglas Park was the worst

Q7 Do you still keep up to date with what’s happening

   at Celtic Park.

A. Yes, nearly every day, you become an ex player but always a 

   supporter.

Q8 Do you feel envious with the large amounts of money

   now being banded about at the top clubs in Europe?

A. Not at all, players only get what clubs are willing to pay them.

Q9 Were you not meant be taking part in the recent Old Firm charity

   match at Ibrox?

A. I was supposed to, but we had a re-arranged fixture away from home.

Q10 Casting your mind back to your testimonial what

    were your feelings running out for the game against

    Bayern Munich and were you surprised by the amount of

    fans that turned out to support you.

A.  Very much so, but what a wonderful emotional occasion, one I 

    cherish every day

Q11 What do you think of Celtic’s stadium now that the

    rebuilding is complete?

A.  Fantastic, I still argue it's the best.

Q12 Finally the million dollar question, do you think

    that Martin O’Neill's men can continue their great

    form and go onto win this season’s SPL.

A.  For sure, they can only throw it away but have far too much quality

    to do so.

SIGNED TWICE BY HERO JOCK STEIN

Perhaps the ultimate testiment to Tommy Callaghan’s undoubted ability is the fact that he stands as the only player to be signed TWICE by the great Jock Stein.

A measure of the worth of one of Celtic’s unsung heroes.

RODDY STEWART tells his story

If Tommy Callaghan were asked to present his football curriculum vitae for public consumption he would justifiably have a lot to be proud of.

Six League Championship medals, four Scottish Cup winners' medals and one League Cup winners badge are the tangible rewards of a man who enjoyed a very successful career.

In the information of such a resume however might appear the statistic that would give the player himself most pleasure.

Callaghan holds the unique distinction of being the only man to be signed by the legendary Jock Stein on two separate occasions.

In terms of a judgement on his capabilities he could surely ask for no better reference.

When Tommy joined Celtic, only 18 months had elapsed since the Glasgow club had won the European Cup in Lisbon.

In securing the midfielder's services from Dunfermline the wily Stein was given public notice that he was looking to the future.

For only £35,000 Celtic acquired a player who was well versed in the ways of Scottish football.

For six years Callaghan had been involved at the forefront of the Scottish game appearing in two Scottish Cup finals as well as numerous European matches.

As ever, Stein's judgement would prove sound as Celtic captured a player who would serve the club to good effect for eight years.

Tommy made his debut for Celtic at Firhill and scored with the type of explosive shot that had become his trademark at East End Park.

Despite his wealth of experience he initially found it difficult to settle into the side and it was not until the departure of Bertie Auld that he properly established himself.

Although never the type of player to crave the banner headlines Callaghan became an influential figure for Celts and his contribution to the successes of the 1970s cannot be underestimated.

His medal collection reflects that and it is one particular honour winning occasion that stands out for him as the highlight of his Celtic career.

He revealed: "To win things at any time in professional football is enjoyable.

"But if I had to pick out a special memory from the point of view of personal performance I would choose our Scottish Cup final success against Hibs in 1972.

"The whole team played well and on the day I think we would have beaten anyone.

I also look back with affection on my first Scottish Cup winners' medal with Dunfermline when we beat Hearts 3-1 in 1968.

"The first success is always special and it made up for the disappointment of being beaten by a team called Celtic a few years earlier!"

During his football career Tommy Callaghan reached Scottish Cup finals on an astonishing NINE occasions and only suffered defeat in three of these.

If he enjoyed a good relationship with the nation's premier knockout trophy, the same could not be said of his ventures in the League Cup.

Within a year of his arrival at Celtic Park Tommy had played in the club's victory over St Johnstone. From then on though success in the tournament eluded him.

In that competition the left half played In the match that still ranks as one of the greatest upsets in the history of the Scottish game.

In 1971, despite being written off as complete outsiders, Partick Thistle shocked the football world by defeating Celtic 4-1. Incredibly they led by four goals at the interval.

Even now, 23 years on, Tommy still finds it difficult to comprehend. As he explains, he was not the only one. "You know that is the ONLY time I have ever seen Jock speechless at half-time.

His only comments were, 'They've scored four so you can score four.'

"Every time I see the match on television I still cringe when Thistle are scoring their goals as I am always there or thereabouts,

"For obvious reasons it's not a game I dwell on. Quite simply it was Partick's day."

Having played in a match that had sent shock waves through domestic football, Callaghan also had the misfortune to feature in a game that sent a collective shudder throughout Europe for completely different reasons.

In 1974 Celtic faced Athletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions' Cup, but sadly any resemblance to a normal European match was purely incidental.

Three players were dismissed and seven booked as Athletico Madrid hacked their way to a scoreless draw.

For Tommy the abiding memory remained the disappointment of being denied the opportunity to play in a European Cup final due to events that had little to do with football.

As he recalled: "To play in the final of the European Champions' Cup would certainly have been the highlight of my career.

"I'd been one of the substitutes against Feyenoord in 1970 but did not actually play. Two years later I'd been involved in the match with Inter Milan which we lost on penalties.

"The game with Athletico provided my third opportunity to reach the final.

Beforehand I was convinced that we could beat the Spaniards over two legs but it wasn't to be.

"Although people always recall the match at Celtic Park for it's brutality, my side of the field remained relatively unscathed because the main target of the Athletico players was Jimmy Johnstone!

"He suffered vicious treatment and after the game he was a mass of bruises. The whole thing still remains an unfortunate memory as overall, football was the loser."

After spending eight years with Celtic, Tommy moved to Clydebank for £16,000 in 1976 before eventually retiring. "

Although he spent some time coaching alongside Bertie Auld at Firhill, he did not relish the thought of football management and has spent the best part of the last decade working for a firm of financial consultants.

Today the results of Dunfermline and Celtic still remain important to him but whenever the Opportunity arises he watches his son Tom in action.

A CELT FOR ONE GREAT SEASON

He is one of the most outspoken and controversial characters in the game but as a young professional TommyDocherty was given little opportunity at Celtic Park. But he holds no grudges against the club he started his career with and he still holds them close to his heart. RODDY STEWART caught up with 'The Doc' to recall his one season in the Hoops.

  THOMAS HENDERSON DOCHERTY was never destined to be one of football's anonymous figures.

Colourful and controversial, irrepressible and outspoken, he has to be considered one of the games most enduring characters.

As a player, but more especially as a manager, his name was never far from the headlines. These stories did not always relate to events on the field.

Much has been written and spoken about him but it is not such general knowledge that the early part of a career, that would span four decades, was spent at Celtic Park.

For one reason or another his stay at the club would not be lengthy.

Yet despite all his achievements in the game it is a period of his football life that he still regards with the greatest affection.

Tommy signed for Celtic in 1948 having played junior football with Shettleston. In doing so he fulfilled a long-held ambition, resisting the overtures of Newcastle and Burnley to attract him south.

Although Docherty had played for Shettleston at centre-half, Jimmy McGrory the Celtic manager, hoped to use him as a wing half.

However, it would be on the right wing that three matches into the new season he would make his debut.

Astonishingly the opposition for that game would be city rivals Rangers. For once, even the confident youngster was lost for words.

Tommy recalled: "No-one was more surprised then me when Jimmy McGrory said I'd be playing, especially in view of the fact that the previous night I'd been in the reserve Old Firm match at Ibrox.

"What I still remember most vividly was the intensity of it all. When we ran out the Celtic support gave us a great reception although having just completed national service before signing for the club, I'm sure many of them wouldn't recognise who I was.

"My aim was not to be overawed by the occasion or to be too respectful of such as George Young and Ian McColl.

"In fact, being so enthusiastic, I remember being booed a few times by the Rangers support for my treatment of their full-back 'Tiger' Shaw.

"Unfortunately we lost 1-0 and Jimmy Mallan missed a penalty that would have given us a deserved equaliser.

                                          Suspicious

When Docherty signed for Celtic the club, in the same season, acquired a new coach in the shape of Jimmy Hogan.

The previous year the Parkhead side had narrowly avoided relegation and Hogan was appointed to improve performances.

The Englishman. By then nearly 70-years-old, was well known within the football world, having been credited with greatly influencing the development of football on the continent, particularly in Austria and Hungary.

Although he had also been manager of Fulham and Aston Villa, many were still suspicious of his methods.

However, for the Celtic team of 1948 it was an imaginative if not controversial appointment.

And did Tommy benefit in anyway from his arrival?  

He claims: "Like most of the youngsters at Celtic Park I loved working with Jimmy Hogan and it was probably him that really got me interested in coaching.

"Although he was in his late 60s his enthusiasm and love for the game was still very evident.

"Jimmy would work with us on skills of the game and for his age he still had a marvellous touch on the ball.

"However, the problem was that we were very rarely given the opportunity to practice some of the things he demonstrated to us. More often than not we'd still be lapping the track.

"Although the senior players such as Charlie Tully, Jimmy Mallan and Johnny Paton liked him as a person they felt that they didn't really gain too much from his presence.

"Their philosophy was that if you didn't have the type of skill he was preaching you shouldn't have been there in the first place."

Hogan would only spend two seasons with the club but that in itself would be longer than the Celtic career of Docherty

In November 1949 the wing half moved to Preston North End having only made nine appearances in the hooped jersey.

The basic problem was that he couldn't displace the Scottish internationalist Bobby Evans whose play was a byword for consistency.

Docherty would only be in the first team when he was on national duty.

It was a point taken up by chairman Robert Kelly when commenting on transfer. He said: "We are sad to let the boy go but we feel he deserves a chance at a higher level."

The news that he was being allowed to leave the club though would be one of the greatest disappointments of Tommy's career.

He remembered sadly: "Mr Kelly the chairman asked me to see him and he said he had accepted a fee of £15,000 from Preston for my services.

"I asked him if he didn't think I was good enough, and he said I was too small to make the grade with Celtic but could be successful elsewhere.

"The strange thing is that just before I left they signed Bobby Collins who was a few inches shorter than me! Still it worked out in the end."

Docherty proved to be a great success at Deepdale and played for Scotland within two years of leaving Celtic.

In 1958 he moved to Arsenal for £30,000 before beginning his management career with Chelsea.

In the following decade he would also manage Rotherham, QPR, Aston Villa, Oporto and Hull City.

In 1971 he found himself again working north of the border when he was appointed manager of Scotland.

He quickly rejuvenated the fortunes of a team that had become accustomed to failure.

In doing so he again renewed his acquaintance with Celtic by utilising the services of many of his former club's players.

Under his stewardship such as Lou Macari, Billy McNeill and David Hay played regularly for their country.

Kenny Dalglish would be given an international debut having only played 12 league games for Celtic.

It was also Docherty who joked that he had to shorten one of his training sessions because no one could get the ball from wee Jimmy Johnstone.

                                           Successful

After vacating the national managerial post, Tommy looked after the interests of Manchester United, Derby County QPR once more, Preston North End and Wolves as well as a number of Australian club sides.

Today he earns his living as a successful after dinner speaker and radio pundit.

But how does the Doc reflect on those early years at Parkhead some 47 years later?

"I enjoyed it immensely, even though most of the time was spent in the reserves," he said.

"Most of the players enjoyed a laugh and there was always a good atmosphere about the club. Certainly there remains a feeling of disappointment that I wasn't given more of a chance because I felt I deserved that.

"Still, I fulfilled an ambition in playing for the club and that was important to me. They are a team I will always have a great regard for."

A TRUE HERO OF THE CELTIC FANS

BERTIE AULD was a legend in his playing days to the legions of Celtic fans who packed the terraces each weekend. The gritty midfielder, whose humour endeared him to the support, was a mainstay of one of the most successful Celtic teams of all time. RODDY STEWART caught up with him to look back on his glittering career.

FOR many years the 'Celtic Songs has been sung with gusto by the clubs supporters in many different parts of the world. 

At no time however, can it have been put to better effect than in the underground tunnel of the National Stadium in Lisbon. And for those who knew him well, it would not have been a surprise to find out that this unexpected rendition of the club anthem, which had so unnerved the Italians of Internazionale, had been orchestrated by Bertie Auld.  

In reflection on his career it seems a suitable starting point as it revealed so much about the confident and irrepressible nature of the talented midfielder. Bertie himself laughed at the memory of that particular event. 

He said. "Yes, I always get the credit for that one, only because the rest of the players still had their teeth in their pockets and couldn't pronounce the words!

"Seriously though, we were always a team who enjoyed a sing-song and there was no reason that the European Cup final should be any different. In fact for the occasion there was no better chorus than the Celtic song.

"The tunnel leading to the field acted like an echo chamber and I think the volume of noise panicked the Italians. Maybe that's where the game was won!"

Of the team that became known as the 'Lisbon Lions', Bertie Auld was the first to make his debut for Celtic. However, it would not be true to suggest that he was an instant success at Parkhead

After signing for the club in 1955 he moved to Dumbarton for a season to gain experience before returning to Celtic a season later.

Soon afterwards the teenager made his debut for the club in a League Cup match at Broomfield. He was chosen in a left-wing berth in a side bolstered by the experience of Fallon, Evans, Peacock and Tully.

Such was his performance that he played in the next five matches of the campaign only narrowly failing to be selected for the side that thrashed Rangers 7-1 in the astonishing League Cup Final of 1957.

Although Auld quickly became popular in the eyes of the fans, his relationship with the autocratic Robert Kelly remained an uneasy one.

For the Celtic chairman the integrity of the club was above question and Bertie's occasional indiscretions found no favour with him.

Under Kellys influence Berties's first team appearances became less and less frequent and it was not 5 surprise when he was transferred to Birmingham City for £15,000 in 1961.As events a few days earlier proved, it was a decision that made little sense.

While Celtic were unexpectedly being defeated by Dunfermline in a Scottish Cup final replay, Auld was scoring a hat-trick for the reserves at Tynecastle.

Did Bertie feel he had been treated harshly. His answer to that question is that although he did once, now he feels it was a useful experience. 

He explained: "Certainly at the time I felt aggrieved about the situation, but looking back now I think it taught me patience. Bob Kelly was THE MAN at Celtic Park and as everyone knows he picked the team. I was a bit of a fiery character and I don't think that endeared me to him. 

"He ran the club his way and that unfortunately signalled my departure to England. "However, the fact that he was prepared to allow Jock Stein to bring me back showed that he respected me as a player and let bygones be bygones. In fact from then on we got on tremendously well."It would be almost four years before the prodigal son returned to Celtic Park. In that period he won an English League Cup medal and also played in the final of the Fair Cities Cup.

                                                            Maturity

More importantly Bertie Auld had gained a maturity that allowed him to begin fulfilling his great potential as a footballer.This transformation had not gone unnoticed north of the border.Celtic, who had not experienced the greatest of fortune since his departure, expressed a desire to bring him back. For the third time in less than a decade Bertie signed for Jimmy McGrory.It would be McGrory's final act as manager for within a fortnight he had been succeeded by Jock Stein. 

For Bertie Auld that appointment would be the final and most significant part of his development to the ranks of the Celtic greats. The remaining part of the season revealed to the Celtic supporters what they had missed. Auld was now utilised on the left side of midfield and his influence there became enormous.

Although not a prolific goalacorer he found the net on five occasions against Airdrie in Stein's first match as manager, In the Scottish Cup final that launched Celtic's domination of domestic football he scored twice against Dunfermline in their dramatic 3-2 victory . Already it was being suggested that his signing had been one of the best moves ever made by Celtic in the transfer market.

                                                               Dominate

It was after Celtic's North American summer tour of 1966 that Bertie Auld finally settled into his role as the club's playmaker He developed a great understanding with his midfield partner Bobby Murdoch and both could dominate matches with their incisive passing.

And the way Bertie talks about Murdoch shows the obvious regard he has for his former teammate. He said: "For most of my career I played alongside Bobby Murdoch and it was a great pleasure for me. "Such was our understanding that we became known as McKellar and Watt. 

I honestly felt that during the European Cup final I could have found him had I been playing with a blindfold on. "To me, Bobby will go down as one of the finest Celts ever He was absolutely magnificent and could have played in any team at any level. 

The phrase 'world class' is a bit overused, but he was that and a little bit more. Sometimes people forget that." After Lisbon, Bertie remained an integral part of the all conquering Celtic team for another three seasons but even he could not escape the advent of 'father time'. 

Although injuries became more and more of a problem, when fit, Stein always chose him for the important games.

In the European arena he could still perform with dis­tinction and matches with Fiorentina and Leeds United in 1970 once more saw him at his most influential. Twelve months later the name of Robert Auld appeared on the team list for the final occasion.

Thirty-five thousand watched as the Lisbon Lions made their farewell appearance in a league match against Clyde at Celtic Park.

After a 6-1 victory appropriately it was Bertie Auld who was lifted shoulder high by his teammates as they left the field.

Today the cheerful demeanour of Bertie can be found entertaining the customers when he occasionally works in that popular Celtic watering hole, Bairds Bar in the Calton.

As the former Celt noted "the Jungle might be gone but it's spirit is alive here in Bairds". For those fans travelling to matches a warm welcome an always be found. The presence of such a great Celt will certainly always ensure that.