Murdo MacLeod never doubted that Celtic would stop the 10 in 1997/98.
RETURNING to Paradise to help stop the 10 was a daunting task given what was at stake but for Murdo MacLeod, it was an easy decision and he maintains playing his part in the accomplishment ranks amongst one of the proudest moments of his life.
The late 1960s and early ‘70s paid witness to a golden era for Celtic, during which time winning the European Cup in 1967 marked the greatest achievement in the club’s history.
Celtic’s pedigree in European competition at that time was mirrored domestically with nine consecutive league titles spanning the 1965/66 season through to the 1973/74 season.
The early 1990s saw a change in fortune for Celtic and the legacy of that incredible nine-in-a-row period was in jeopardy due to the Rangers’ spend, spend, spend policy which had propelled them to nine consecutive league titles.
Stopping the 10 was about much more than just preventing the Ibrox side from holding the bragging rights to domestic superiority, it was about protecting the legacy of Jock Stein’s Lisbon Lions and showing the world that football was about more than money.
No one knew that more than former Hoops midfielder Murdo MacLeod, and when the call came to return to Celtic for one of the most important seasons in the club’s history, there was never any hesitation in his decision.
“I remember my time at Partick Thistle had come to an end and I wasn’t sure what the next move for me would be,” recalled MacLeod. “But then I got a phone call from Davie Hay asking me if I’d like to come back to the club as a coach.
This story is from the Vol 53 Issue 42 edition of Celtic View.
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This story is from the Vol 53 Issue 42 edition of Celtic View.
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