Do you agree that Bobby Murdoch was the best ever passer in the British game?
You can never be certain about these things but if was not the best, then he must have come very close to it. Certainly, the best I have ever seen.

Do you think the atmosphere at Parkhead has improved / diminished over the years?  
This has definitely changed but mainly because of the size of the crowd and their expectations. In our last home game of 1970/71 season, for instance, the crowd for the match against Clyde, the last appearance of the Lisbon Lions, was only 35,000. Now, you would get nearly 60,000. I would say, though, that the crowd we get today are not football fans but Celtic supporters. There is a difference. I have never known a time when Celtic fans have so little interest in the other teams in Scotland. most of whom have equally keen fans, if fewer of them
 
What is the funniest thing you has seen/heard on the field in your playing days?

Funniest Thing Heard - Bobby Murdoch got a sore one right in the goolies and went to ground; Bob Rooney came on to attend to him with cold water and some sympathy; Bobby blasted out, 'never mind rubbing the bloody things, count them!'
Funiest Thing Seen - At Sheffiled Wednesday. Our striker was coming back from injury and at one point of the game got caught on the point of the ankle, causing him to lie down on the pitch. We had a new , enthusiastic physio who raced to the touchline, shouted and screamed till he got the attention of the referee, then he raced the soaking wet turf towrads the stricken player. Just as he arrived, the striker, feeling better, sat up; the physio, running at top speed, tried to brake but slipped backwards and took off towarsd the striker, catching him with full studs right on the side of the chest and as both a them collapsed one on top of the other, the other players went into hysterics.

In ten years time do you see Celtic playing in (a) SPL, (b) English Premiership, or (c) a European Super League?
In ten years time - Money might talk and Celtic will play elsewhere but I would like it to be on the merits of our play, not bacause we have 60,000 fans at every match, a big world -wide support, a fine pitch and a large stadium. I would like it to be because we keep reaching the latter stages of the Champions league?

Have you had any famous people in your dentist's chair?
I have in my time treated all kinds of well-known names but the two patients I rememeber best were firstly, an orchestral conductor from France whose entourage referred to as 'Maestro' and a Sheik from the Middle East brought in by one of my Glasgow patients. One of his aides paid the bill using a platinum American Express card!

Who's been your toughest opponent in your career?  
I was fortunate enough to play against many fine left wingers but Willie Johnston could match any of them.
 
Having had a spell in the English game with Sheffield Wednesday did you find the game to be played much differently than in Scotland, and was there a distinctly different approach to training and tactics than you had experienced with Celtic?  
There was not a great deal of difference when I played. Perhaps many of the defenders were on average bigger than their Scottish counterparts and they had some large strikers. Since then, though, their game has been boosted by the offspring of the immigrants who arrived from the West Indies. The vast majority of our immigrants - form the Indian sub-continent - don't play football.

As your sons have played Rugby do you have a keen interest in the sport yourself, and did no other sports threaten to tempt you away from football when you were starting out?  
I have an attachment for all sports which involve personal effort, drive, ambition, flair etc. That means ones involving cars or horses are not too high on the list.
 
You had a brief spell in management with Waterford - did you find it a major transition from playing the game, and was there a specific reason that you did not pursue this career further?
The chance to manage there came at a bad time. Elisabeth had just had our fourth child, she was not feeling well and frankjly, I should have called the whole thing off even before I travelled. I then buckled down to the coaching role with the SFA for a while, then the media came in and I quickly worked out that the managerial role was not for me. What a shame that many who are in it could not work that out sooner.

Do you take an interest in the Scotland national team? And what do you see as the cause of the national teams current lack of quality?
I am a Scot and do take a great interest in our national team In the 1980s, we had a series of strikes by teachers in this country and schools football stopped and never recovered. we also have an appalling lack of facilities for football. My boys always played their rugby all through school on good grass pitches; their footballing counterparts were usually playing on red ash.

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