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The Bunnet

Trivia

• The man who saved Celtic!
  
• Nicknamed "The Bunnet" as he liked to wear an old style cloth cap ("Bunnet").
• Rebuilt Celtic Park to be the grand stadium it is today.
• Revolutionised the structure of the club and the financial basis of the club.
• So loved by Jorge Cadete who claimed that Fergus McCann made him too stressed to return to Celtic that he named his new budgie "McCann"!

Fergus McCann - Celtic Executive (March 1994-April 1999)

In March 1994, expatriate businessman and Celtic supporter Fergus McCann took control of a financially-strained club, in the process ousting a board of directors which included members with long family connections with Celtic. Shortly afterwards, Lou Macari was replaced as team manager by another ex-Celt Tommy Burns. Later that same year, in accordance with Fergus McCann's Five-Year Plan, the club was reconstituted as a plc, a development quickly followed by the most successful share-issue in the history of British football with 10,000 taking up the offer of investing a minimum of £620, thus contributing £14 million towards the re-financing of the club. In April 1999, Fergus McCann departed at the completion of his five-year stint. Allan MacDonald, a former British Aerospace managing director, succeeded him as chief executive.

Only Celtic could ever have had a saviour like Fergus McCann. A character if ever there was one, and a stand-out in his "bunnet" (cloth cap) in an increasingly Hugo Boss and Armani clad business world. He was both a moderniser yet a throwback to an earlier era of almost Scottish Presbyterian thrift. Obsessive about generating money but not about necessarily spending it. Not someone that will be easy to convey in what he was really like and the below likely only scratches the surface. In many ways that's how he would prefer it.

In our history, our great men have included pillars of the community such as Brother Walfrid, but in many way Fergus was and wasn't the antithesis of Brother Walfrid. Both had ideas and visions of how they wanted Celtic to be, both were strong single minded men and both had a strong religious sense. However, Brother Walfrid was guided by his sense of duty for the church and religion, Fergus by financial and business rationale. What couldn't be argued with was their committment to the club.

In his youth, Fergus McCann was a regular Celtic supporter going to matches on the local supporters' bus before emigrating to Canada. There he settled down and made his riches in the lucrative golfing holiday market. This made him very comfortable, although not as wealthy as Ranger's chairman David Murray, but proved that he was an astute businessman nevertheless. Celtic was an opportunity for Fergus, so his old home of Scotland was where his next venture lay.

As a character he could be quite strange. Brian Dempsey (ex-board member) recalls meeting him and seeing him doing stretching exercises on the floor in his office! A bit funny. Many people just found him too obtuse and difficult to communicate with. Others liked his no nonsense attitude, but he was here to do a job in five years (his plan) and nothing was to stop him.

The Takeover

His first approach to Celtic on a business basis was in the early 90s. The government endorsed "Taylor Report" enforced a requirement for all top division stadia to be all seated from 1994 onwards. For Celtic this was a major jolt, as Parkhead had probably one of the biggest terracing around, and so redevelopment and investment was required fast. Fergus approached Celtic with an investment proposition of funding to rebuild the stadium in return for a 3-year right to marketing season-tickets, but was quickly rebuffed. This was a separate proposal from the "Rebel" group of investors at the time (i.e. Brian Dempsey et al).

This didn't put Fergus off, and with renewed vigour he took up the mantle again with the "Rebel" shareholders for control of Celtic, succeeding after a torrid time saw him ultimately take control of the club with a consortium in 1994 in what was a very bitter battle. At one point during the takeover battle, Fergus was not even allowed into Parkhead and had to do a Radio interview in a trailer outside the ground. On the the takeover, he stated that the old board would not get even "one thin dime" but for commercial reasons the former share holders were paid off. Ex-director Michael Kelly departed as bitter as can be and the "Sack the Board" days were now over. As a measure of Fergus' commitment, he put in £9.4m of his money to help rebuild the club and that was the beginning of the new phase for Celtic.

The Business

Things were never going to be easy and change themselves overnight. Many were too rose-tinted after the takeover, except for Fergus who was always a realist and kept his feet on the ground. That in itself was the basic foundation that underpinned his managerial style.

His promise was simple: to rebuild the stadium, get the club back on its feet and win the league, and then to be judged in five years.

So what did he do? Well, it would take a huge book in itself to be able to go through all of his achievements and below is a listing of some of the major achievements:

• The share issue, and the successful switch from a private limited company to a PLC
• The rebuilding of the Stadium
• The Season Tickets sales success
• Overtaking Rangers on an attendance basis
• Expansion of the commercial base of the Club
• The "Bhoys Against Bigotry" campaign
• Overtaking Rangers on a revenue basis
• Planning for the youth academy (donating £1.5m)
• Taking on the SFA and UEFA publicly in the Courts
  

Even if Fergus had only achieved only one of the above successes he'd have been lauded for it, but under his management the list of achievements above is a milestone. For fans brought up post-1994, it is hard for them to fully fathom the poor state that the club was in. The transformation under Fergus has left a legacy that has set a path for the club that should not be diverted from.

In the early days, Fergus had sat himself in the hot seat seeing that the whole place needed more than just a dust down. Following a clear-out of the deadwood (i.e. the remaining board members from the old regime and later the manager (Lou Macari)), the priority was to get the financial base of the club up fixed and to get a new manager (Tommy Burns) which he did in relatively heated circumstances from Kilmarnock.

Next, the subsequent plans for redevelopment of the club hinged on the success of the share club, for which was much maligned for and split from ex-Rebel Brian Dempsey who was it's most vociferous public opponent. It didn't matter. While others pontificated, Fergus just got on with the job, and to his delight the share issue was a huge success, possibly the most successful ever for a football club with the fans pouring in money for investing to re-build the club.

With the finances in place, the next step was the rebuilding of the stadium. Having moved to Hampden temporarily, planning for the stadium itself was contentious. Ideas about moving away from Parkhead were a non-starter due to time constraints imposed by the Taylor report amongst other aspects. Another point was that with crowds at around 30-40k at average, plans to create a 60k seater stadium were ridiculed by many. Fergus was repeatedly advised against such a grand plan, critics fearing large swathes of empty seats if it were built. Fergus simply replied to the critics "They'll come!". Next came the criticisms over season tickets, with former chairman Jack McGinn mocking the idea stating that Season Tickets were more trouble than they're worth.

Regardless, Fergus persevered, and the successful completion of the stadium and the full-house season ticket sales are testamount to his vision and business acumen. His critics were curiously silent after this. Jack McGinn in particular looked as out of touch as he ever was. The stadium has been regularly rated as one of the best in the world for atmosphere, and we have Fergus to thank in large part for this.

An expansion and modernisation of the commercial structure of the club's merchandise also paid dividends. Beforehand, Celtic's merchandising was really a couple of diddy club shops with next to nothing in them (key chains and rain macs etc). The administration under Fergus McCann really did make a difference and seemed to startle many with the commercial revolution the club was undergoing.

Tackling the SFA

Probably McCann's crowning glory was taking on and defeating the incompetent incumbents of the SFA. Delays led to late registration of new signing Jorge Cadete, and so McCann took the SFA to court over this. Derided for this action by various sections of the media, they were left with egg on their face as McCann won the case leading to the resignation of the then Chief Executive Jimy Farry in disgrace. McCann basically was dragging the SFA into the modern age and giving them a public kicking along the way, and showing that Celtic were not going to accept second class treatment. It was for the time a magnificent victory and achievement, a landmark case.

• Full Story: Link
  

Managers

Everyone has their weaknesses, and Fergus' achilies heel was his interpersonal skills, and nowhere better or worse was this shown than in his dealings with the team managers and players. In fairness, managers and players are usually just big kids, but he still had to still deal with them. Going through four managers in his short spell at Celtic shows that there was some problem.

A fuller discussion of the in's and out's can be found on the respective manager's pages:

- Lou Macari: Lou Macari was a certain goner from early on (he made few friends within Parkhead at any level during his time), and his quick dismissal followed through to an acrimonious court case where no one came out in a good light, the judge describing Fergus as arrogant and selfish. In his biography, Macari spent a whole chapter or two basically scathing about Fergus and the whole court case, citing complete shock on his treatment and the judge's result.

- Tommy Burns: A difficult relationship but the longest reign. Tommy was an emotional guy and got the backing financially with Fergus. In another sense, as it was Fergus' first real experience working with a football manager, probably a lot of naivety on his part of their mentality and ability from his side. Lasted a long time, so in fairness Fergus did give Tommy more than enough support and chance to do the job, and they were relatively close working at many times, although Tommy did say that he probably did 15-20 years in that short period of time. We all love Tommy but a low point for Tommy was his quite frankly sanctimonious double spread article in the papers over his time at Celtic soon after he left, criticising Fergus amongst others, which really was avoidable and not what we expected from a man of his stature.

- Wim Jansen: A very difficult relationship, probably doomed from the start. To ease up the financial/football team relationship, Jock Brown was brought in as a middle man to work on the financial management side leaving the manager to coach, however the situation actually worsened with Wim leaving at the end of his only season at the club. Fergus was frustrated at the manager's inability to work along business management lines with lists of potential buys & sells and so on for the board to plan from for financial and business reasons. Even though we'd won the league, Fergus was adamant that the club should be run as more than as just as a first XI team. On Wim's departure, Fergus stated that if Wim hadn't left he'd have been sacked anyway. Fergus was correct at the end of it all but not all saw it this way and it led to one of the lowest points in Celtic's history when at the unfurling of the league flag the next season, Fergus was roundly booed by sections of the support. An unnecessary action from sections of the fans in question who were being too myopic. Wim Jansen deserved credit for winning the league as manager but was not a good long-term appointment taking in many of his decisions during his time at the club. Fergus deserved more respect and understanding, as well as more perspective from the support.

- Jozef Venglos: The last manager in charge with Fergus. and in general there were fewer problems. Venglos seemed to have a better relationship with the board management, but his time at Celtic was short-lived and sadly another managerial appointment failed. Rangers were too far ahead to quickly catch up, and with the press readily attacking Venglos for anything, it was not an easy time.

Fergus' only significant management failure in his time was his inability to find the correct club manager/coach and set-up. For a football club, this is obviously significant, and he did try to entice big name managers, such as Bobby Robson, but Celtic's slide over the 90s was so bad that it was difficult to attract anyone of major stature to take on the role. Other potential managers were just way out of our ability to pay for them.

The Players

Tricky one this, as many players are never going to go open with what was said between themselves and the chairman UNLESS the player has has an agent trying to cause trouble. Footballers aren't always the most sensible people, and the 90s was a transition time for players moving from normal wages to being mega high-earners (£10k a week for many and so on), and this was something new for Fergus and the board to deal with. It was a difficult transition, and many players were themselves deluded about the realities of the real world in financial terms.

Contractual spats were a regular feature in the press, with Viduka, Cadete, Van Hooijdonk and Di Canio the stand-outs. The contractual situation with Di Canio almost went to court when Di Canio claimed in his autobiography that Fergus went back on his word over financial re-numeration after the first season. The matter was settled out of court. As for Cadette, well it was always in the papers, and the contractual issues with Viduka were no better. The van Hooijdonk situation was a farce, and after his whinging in the papers, the player declared that "£10k a year is fine for a homeless person but not for a world class footballer!" What a pathetic excuse for a person, and how is any person supposed to deal with someone who comes out with a remark like that.

So how exactly was Fergus to work in these circumstances? Possibly, he didn't handle them all well and should have realised that. His interpersonal skills have not been his forté, and maybe if he was a bit more pragmatic then the deals could have worked out for the better in private without any media intrusion.

One example of poor player management was the treatment of Paul McStay. On renewing his contract, after many long years of great loyal service he was offered a relatively poor roll-over contract. At a time when contract pay levels weren't excessive as they are now, for a player of his quality, it was a bad move by Fergus. When the story hit the public headlines, it didn't make for great reading. In fairness, it was McStay who brought the situation to the press.

On the other hand, maybe it was time the club stood up to some of the whining prima-donna players all clubs including ourselves have had (e.g. Di Canio & van Hooijdonk). The club had no public spats with any of the other players (the majority) so why do the few deserve added attention (McStay excluded)? With the exception of Di Canio (to a limited extent) none of the rest have really gone on to reach greater heights at club level after leaving Celtic. We can't be held hostage by players and agents, however we have to work with them as they are the most valuable capital the club has and is the reason why we come to Celtic Park. Not an easy one to work out, and no obvious blueprint.

Public criticism of the man

The many times that he was attacked personally (in the press and elsewhere) was astonishing, especially by people without the knowledge or experience to be able to qualify what they were saying. Criticisms from journalists (much of the Scottish press), ex-players (Cadette), ex-board members (Michael Kelly and Brian Dempsey) and even dinosaur rock stars (Jim Kerr) were continuous in their attacks. The press lapped up in any way a chance to have a dig at Fergus, something that he complained about as well.

Any incident was deemed to show him as a miser and obtuse. One comical report attacked him for not funding the players when out in Germany for socialising (around 1994). This was daft! Why should well off players have to take money off the chief executive for this. The teams are funded to do well on the pitch, anything beyond that is up to themselves to fund themselves.

He was lampooned for his austere dress sense (e.g. the Bunnet), and he was myopically criticised for having spent money on re-buidling the stadium instead of on the team. When the "Bhoys Against Bigotry" campaign was begun, it was ridiculed and criticised more than supported, with many not admitting now to doing so (esp among the media). David Murray at Rangers was lauded even though he did next-to-nothing on the bigotry debate and just leeched onto the good work that Fergus had the guts to begun. Didn't stop David Murray jumping on the bandwagon later on claiming he was some kind of pioneer on this front (total nonsense).

Why anyone in Fergus' position would have want to continue is beyond me, yet he still did and many of us will always respect him for his tenacity.

No one is above criticism and Fergus was easily irritated but with hindsight many of his critics are now eating humble pie. Then again, Fergus didn't exacly make friends easily in the media world and many were always too eager to stick the boot in when they could.

Legacy

Unlike players or managers on the pitch, a great Chief Executive's role can never be fully assessed by 90 minute results. The stadium, the financial planning, the business plan and the club's standing are all investments that can only be assessed years later in retrospect. Other board members and investors have been made to look foolish for their criticisms of the man for what he did (esp Brian Dempsey and Jack McGinn). Many of them had only a bark but no bite, and Fergus at least put his money where his mouth is. The club was now taken seriously, and was no more an easy target for the press, agents or uptight players. Celtic are now a very seriously professional club and business, run properly rather than for aggrandisement for select families.

For Scottish football, the legacy is a strong forthright egalitarian club that represents all that is best in Scotland, something that Scottish football had lacked since the early 80s. Fergus was also prescient in his willingness to openly criticise the irresponsible profligacy of much of Scottish football, something that in the next decade after his departure has clearly been shown by Rangers financial demise in particular. Eschewing modern financial gambling in favour of prudence and planning, his old fashioned outlook on cash management is something that much of football has to revisit and put into practise for their own sake as much as anything else.

It was disappointing that Fergus did not come to Seville for the UEFA Cup final in 2003, but after some of the personal abuse that he had to suffer from various sections in Scotland (both within and outwith Celtic FC circles) you can't blame him much. He made his money but he's a sharp man and he is likely to have been able to make the money somewhere else with less headache. He came, he saw and, in his own way, he conquered all barriers in front of him. An unlikely but wonderful saviour.

At time of writing he is managing a business oriented coach and bus service in the US. Only the best and highest standards for our Fergus.

Fergus McCann is a legendary figure for the club and we wish him the very best and hope he returns someday to see and support the club he helped to rebuild. This time he will be given a wonderfully warm reception and most deserved he is of it too.

Links

• Fergus McCann Pictures
• Fergus McCann Quotes
• Details of the Fergus McCann share issue
  
• Celtic Takeover
  

Article

• Citizen McCann; Ten years ago the Fergus McCann revolution got under way Sunday Herald Feb 2004

Quotes By McCann

"I want people to judge me on what we have achieved after five years. I will go back to my home in Bermuda, play some golf and live a healthier life."
McCann, Aug 1995 (The Herald)

"Celtic fans should look forward to my departure as we already have in place a top management team to take the Club forward. I have not dedicated five years of my life to hand the Club over to the wrong people. The Club is on an upward curve. Our target is to have a dominant position in Scottish football followed by being a recognised force on the European scene once again. The quality of people, a first class stadium, substantial finances and a faithful supporter base is the foundation on which future success will be built".
5/12/1997

"Today is my last AGM as Celtic Chairman as I will be leaving the Club as planned before the end of the season. The time has passed very quickly since 4th March 1994, when the Club had reached an all time low with no on-field success, a dilapidated stadium, substantial debt and no money available for new players.
"Over the four years we have made massive progress: winning the League Championship (97/98); building the largest club stadium in the UK (60,000 seats); having the largest support (52,000 season book holders) of any club in Britain. This has been achieved by everyone who cares about Celtic working together towards a shared vision of football success and pride in a club which is part of our culture, open to all and a responsible member of the community working to help others where it can.
"We are now working hard to ensure that the progress that has been made can be sustained into the future. We have begun the search for a new Chairman and a new Chief Executive and we will ensure that we identify the right people to lead Celtic forward into the new millennium once again as a major force in Europe.
"As I have indicated some time ago, I intend to divest my shareholding when I leave the Club. In doing so, my overriding principle is that I shall do what I believe is best for the future of Celtic. I have also indicated my intention that my shareholding will be made available to be held broadly amongst the supporters and existing shareholders of the Club. I believe that this should produce the best structure of ownership for the Club and the Company."
14/09/1998

In response to the current market speculation concerning a proposed takeover bid for Celtic plc, a consortium including Kenny Dalglish and Jim Kerr that is considering a number of options regarding Celtic plc, today announced that the consortium has requested a meeting with the majority shareholder of Celtic plc, which may or may not lead to an offer for his shares and/or an offer for the entire issued share capital of the Company. As of today, no meeting has taken place. The valuation being placed upon Celtic plc by the consortium is substantially below the current market price of Celtic plc
10/11/1998

"I am pleased to announce the details of the sale of 14,400,000 of my shares in Celtic that enables existing shareholders and season book holders to increase substantially their ownership of their Club.
"I am satisfied with the progress the Club has made over the last five years.
I now look forward to once again being a full-time supporter and hopefully watching the team and Club progress to realise its true potential, which I believe is considerable."
20/09/1999

Shareholder: "I tell you that 90% of the people here are not interested in business. They are not interested only in the playing side of things."
McCann: "I tell you that without the business, there would be no club - and NO team."
1997 AGM

McCann recalls: "The stadium had to be rebuilt and peoplewere saying why don't you just buy the players Fergus? We'll stand in the mud.
But the stadium was a tool. We had to have a season-ticket base. Jack McGinn [board member] was saying, "We don't want season-ticket holders, they are nothing but trouble." Well, I just couldn't live with that marketing philosophy at all.The answer is that you have got to fill the park. The average crowd was 28,000 and we built a 60,000- seat stadium. How smart was that? Well, it was the right thing to do."
Fergus McCann highlightsMcGinn's comment, and possibility illustrates why the old board member's mentality and why they weren't good enough to manage the club then or after the takeover.

Quotes - On McCann

"McCann built a stadium. Oh, what a great great thing. Ceaucescu built pretty amazing stadiums, so did Mussolini. I'm in it for the team. It's like building La Scala and having a run of the mill pub-singer perform."
Jim Kerr, May 1999 (shows that not all were respectful of McCann's efforts)

"While other clubs appeared to be able to identify a player they wanted to buy and then just go ahead and buy him, with Celtic it seemed that the process would take roughly the same time as the gestation of an elephant. It seemed that youngish players who are linked with Celtic had become veterans, completed their careers and moved into pub management before Magoo [Fergus McCann] was satisfied enough with the small print to authorise the expenditure."
Alastair McSporran, The Absolute Game Fanzine - 1997

"Some people I know say he's a very nice man once you get to know him. Everyone is entitled to their opinion I suppose!!!"
Mark Viduka on Fergus McCann 1999

'I probably did 15 or 20 years as a manager in those three years.'
Tommy Burns on his three years as Celtic manager under Fergus McCann

"Fergus was the most unjustly maligned man in the history of the game, when you consider that he took the club from bankruptcy into the mainstream and built that stadium along the way. NOW, the Celtic board have more financial heavyweights than Rangers, with people like Brian Quinn, Dermot Desmond and Sir Patrick Sheehy."
Hugh Adams (ex-Rangers Development & Pools Chairman)

Celtic share sale 'delights' Fergus McCann

(BBC Oct 99)

Former Celtic managing director Fergus McCann says the sale of his 51% stake in the club has been a resounding success.

And the former Parkhead chief applauded fans for seizing their opportunity to buy into the club.
Mr McCann confirmed, as expected, that Irish businessman Dermot Desmond now has just under 20% of the holdings to become the club's new main shareholder.

Of the 9,997,728 ordinary shares put up for sale last month, a total of 7,525,880 valid acceptances have been received - just over 75% - generating a sum of £21,072,464.

But with the shares being underwritten it means none are unsold and all went for the same price, £2.80 each, with Mr Desmond upping his 13.8% stake by 6% to 19.8%.

Mr McCann said that about 17% of the share total has been taken up by city institutions, which was lower than anticipated, but he stressed that the fans will collectively own more than half the Glasgow club.

After saving the club from bankruptcy in 1994 it was always his intention to distribute his shares among supporters and on Friday Mr McCann said he was delighted with what he called an "overwhelming" response.

"I am pleased with the overall result of my share offer and placing, especially with the take-up by supporters who have invested more heavily than in the initial offer by the club in 1994-5," he said.

'Great potential'
"Although the actual number of shareholders, 5,300, is lower than expected, the average investment per person was higher which shows their great confidence in Celtic's future and satisfaction with the share performance up to now.

"Shareholder supporters will now own approximately 63% of the share total.
"Institutions will own approximately 17% of the overall share total, their strong interest in the placing and offer reflects the strength and great potential of the company.
"Dermot Desmond will own 19.8% of the share total.

"I was happy with how I was able to assist over 3,000 subscribers through the interest free payment plan.

"This helped to ensure that a solid majority of the shareholders of Celtic will be supporters.

"I would like to thank them and the supporters in general for responding and backing my plan over the last five years."

The disposal, which was underwritten by institutions for £40m, gave current shareholders an opportunity to increase their portfolios and allowed season ticket holders and staff an opportunity to purchase a stake.

Current shareholders were able to buy one new share for every three currently held.

Mr McCann has agreed to gift a potential £1.5m of the profit to help fund a Celtic football academy.

The man who changed Celtic so radically also had a lighter side

(The Herald Oct 2008)
The Official History of Celtic Football Club weighs in at four DVDs and more than seven hours. It is an impressive piece of journalism, a claim which cannot always be made for merchandisewith an official club stamp on it.

This is not the usual attempt to bathe a club's history in a rosy glow. History' delves into periods of turmoil and gives a platform to thosewhose contributions to the club are mired in controversy.

Michael Kelly, the former director eventually ousted by Fergus McCann, is allowed his say. Kelly's arguments defy logic but, as a leading protagonist, his inclusion remains justified. So, too, that of Jock Brown,who had a short but controversial spell as general manager in 1997-98. At one point, Brown rhymes off the successful 97-98 squad, most of whom arrived at the club during his time there, before adding: "Now, don't mistake me, I'm not taking credit for that ..."

It is gold. Comedy gold.

However, it is the documenting of the McCann era which makes for the most fascinating viewing.

The Scots-Canadian emerges as the key figure in the club's history, along with Jock Stein and Brother Walfrid. In fact, McCann should be remembered as an important figure in British football. His five-year plan was the perfect template for the development of a modern club. He was first to introduce the season ticket culture on a grand scale, which proved to be the platform for the club's prosperous future.

McCann recalls: "The stadium had to be rebuilt and peoplewere saying why don't you just buy the players Fergus? We'll stand in the mud.
But the stadium was a tool. We had to have a season-ticket base.

"Jack McGinn was saying, We don't want season-ticket holders, they are nothing but trouble.'Well, I just couldn't live with that marketing philosophy at all.The answer is that you have got to fill the park. The average crowd was 28,000 and we built a 60,000- seat stadium. How smart was that?
Well, it was the right thing to do."

McCann also pushed through football's first really successful share flotation. He did so shortly after the club's defeat to Raith Rovers in the 1994 Coca-Cola Cup final, hardly the ideal market conditions.

"I had many doomsayers saying you won't raise money from supporters'," he recalls. "They will talk a lot but they won't put their hands in their pockets'. I remember the night before the deadline I was standing looking out of the window of my office in the Jock Stein lounge. It was a Friday night, pouring rain and there were people lined up waiting to invest before the deadline. It was such a daunting moment that I felt I can never let these people down'. Twelve thousand fans came up with cash. No other club has had that happen."

That McCann was a visionary is well documented. That he possessed an acerbic wit is less so.

Andrew Smith, the former editor of the Celtic View and an entertaining contributor to 'History', was a witness to many of the millionaire's eccentricities.

Such was McCann's parsimony that he would frequently admonish Smith for scoffing toast in the player's lounge and even administered a toaster' ban. "No one ever worked with Fergus. You worked for him," recalled Smith.

McCann had a nice turn of phrase and Smith, a respected football writer onThe Scotland on Sunday, has included some of his favourite McCann quotations in his newbook, The Celtic Miscellany', a splendid stocking filler. Here are some of his best lines:

• "The Three Amigos."

On the big screen, they were the hapless bandits. To McCann they were Celtic strikers Pierre van Hooijdonk, Jorge Cadete and Paolo di Canio,who attempted to extort salary increases by crying to the press that the club's owners had reneged on (fictitious) verbal promises to improve their contracts.

• "Principles, sir? Sorry, I can't afford them."

From George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, McCann scoffingly recited this whenever it was suggested he occupied the moral high ground by not giving in to monetary demands.

• "And all the stars that never were, are parking cars and pumping gas."

The lyric from the Bacharach and David song Do You Know the Way to San Jose,which McCann offered as a retort to a press man who asked if he was worried about losing stars' on pre-contract agreements.

• "The dog barks but the caravan moves."

After the club's share issue was an outstanding success, McCann offered the old Eastern proverb as a retort to critics, chief among them ousted director Kelly, who predicted it was doomed to fail spectacularly.

• "Do you believe that stuff the old man was saying the other night at the Oso Negro about gold changin' a man's soul so's he ain't the sort of man as he was before findin' it?"

A line from The Treasure of Sierre Madre McCann would recite when despairing at the greed of footballers and their agents.

During the building of the stand on the site of the old Rangers end, the increased height of the new structure brought complaints from residents in the council houses behind it.They claimed the stand was causing interference with their television pictures and demanded compensation. McCann said he would make a payment to all those who brought their TV licences up to the club. No-one ever did.

Saturday 18th October 2008

By MARTIN GREIG

Celtic, the house that McCann built