The Man Who Saved Celtic

It was on March 4, 1994 that Fergus McCann stepped in to save the club, and in marking that pivotal moment in Celtic’s history, fans remain thankful for the man in the bunnet and the legacy he left

- Tjoe Sullivan

“Entrepreneurs are risk-takers, willing to roll the dice with their money or reputation on the line in support of an idea or enterprise. They willingly assume responsibility for the success or failure of a venture and are answerable for all its facets. The buck not only stops at their desks, it starts there too.”

Fergus McCann on Fergus McCann? No. The words quoted come from the many celebrated soundbites of millionaire businessman Victor Kiam, the man who famously liked the product so much he bought the company.

In Kiam’s case the company manufactured electric shavers but even his renowned product couldn’t come anywhere near the close shave Celtic Football Club found themselves facing on the cold and unwelcoming morning of March 4, 1994 - 26 years ago this very day.

The face staring back from the mirror was old, lined with wrinkles through years of mismanagement and in the advanced stage of archaic neglect.

It was showing its age and with the scythe of Old Father Time vying with the sickle of The Grim Reaper to deliver the final cut, nothing less than a cut-throat razor would be sharp enough to get in there first and shear away the grey hairs that grew more fankled and knotted with each passing day.

However, the days had now shrank to minutes and with High Noon rapidly approaching and the seconds ticking away, the final blow was delivered by a blade that cut a three-decade corridor from Croy via Canada to Celtic Park.

Just four years previously, he first approached the club with an offer to invest. That and others were rejected, but in true Victor Kiam style, Fergus McCann liked the product so much he bought the company and it wasn’t just McCann who emulated Kiam’s entrepreneurism - every Celtic supporter would be a ‘Victor’.