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Signed from Dundee United in September 1977 Tom McAdam was a boyhood Rangers fan whose brother Colin played for the Ibrox club.

Originally signed as a striker, McAdam made his Bhoys debut against their rivals from Ibrox when he came on as a sub in a 3-2 away defeat on September 10th.

A robust forward McAdam was good in the air and no slouch on the ground. Defenders knew they had been in a game when they came up against the former Tannadice man. But despite his obvious offensive attributes McAdam’s future as a Celt was to lie elsewhere.

The form of the Celtic backline was causing real concern to Parkhead boss Billy McNeill and in an attempt to mend a leaky defence he decided to experiment with the athletic McAdam.

Tom was tried out as centre-half for the reserves and after promising performances he was in the heart of the Hoops first team defence for the visit of Partick Thistle on May 7th 1979. Just weeks later he was centre-half in the Celtic side which took the league title with that now legendry 10-man 4-2 victory over Rangers.

From that moment McAdam became a defensive stalwart for Celtic. He was part of the sides to win the league title in 1981 and 1982 and after injuries and suspension saw him miss previous Cup final appearances he finally picked up the Scottish Cup in 1985.

McAdam developed into a fine defender under the guidance of McNeill and he even in the back four he possessed a real goal scoring threat when he advanced for set pieces.

Tom eventually left Celtic Park in February 1986 when he was released on a free transfer. He had made 354 starts for Celtic and scored 48 goals. He returned to Parkhead in June 1993 when he became a coach.