Author Alex Gordon is a buddy of the graceful midfielder and has produced fifteen books on Celtic.
In today’s CQN EXCLUSIVE, Alex examines Paul McStay and the reasons behind his decision to play his whole illustrious career with Celtic. The captain of the team, PAUL McSTAY, was on the verge of tears as we sat side by side on a dark, freezing concrete stairs at Celtic Park.
The team’s motivating on-field leader was obviously overtaken with emotion after witnessing what had just happened. On December 12, 1995, a gloomy evening found Celtic playing Manchester United in the Testimonial Match honoring the great conductor.
After the Hoops won 3-1, the sold-out crowd had long since left, and I had taken advantage of some club hospitality. McStay had planned a late-night party at a popular nightclub, good ol’ Victoria’s on Sauchiehall Street, with family and friends. Following the well-earned game in his honor, we had a quiet, uninterrupted moment.
Despite the fact that he was the club’s most important player for a long time, I was more than happy to cooperate when requested to put together the matchday program for one of my favorite players.
It had not been easy for him during the years of infertility, of course. When he was at the top of his game, he had to understand that Celtic was not spending as recklessly as their primary competitors in Glasgow, even though Jim McLean’s Dundee United and Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen were two of the most reputable, competitive, and well-run teams in Europe.
Too many times, McStay was forced to settle for second best, but he rose to the challenges of leading the club plagued by boardroom squabbles and internal strife that would not be resolved until Fergus McCann arrived in 1994.
Paul McStay and Billy McNeill rank among Celtic’s most outstanding and important one-club servants in my opinion. The legendary Lisbon Lion was being pursued by big-time Spurs in the early sixties, but he stuck with the east end of Glasgow club he had supported as a child. His parents had disapproved of him wearing colors, so he used to sneak out of the house with his green-and-white scarf tucked up his jumper to watch the team play. A minor lie from a remarkable person that, had he been rumbled, would have undoubtedly been pardoned.
McStay had offers as well, and at one point, at the end of the 1991–92 season, it appeared as though he could continue in his family’s tradition at the club.
When that campaign’s last game was played, I was the sports editor of the Sunday Mail, which sells one million copies a week and is the biggest-selling newspaper in Scotland. When Celtic lost 2-1 to Hibs at Parkhead on May 2, it signaled the end of another dismal term. McStay hurried to the far touchline to toss his shirt into the stands.
The Scotland international, whose contract was about to expire and who had been linked to other clubs around Europe, had made an uncommon gesture. What possible meaning may his spontaneous acts have?
I scribbled “GOODBYE” over the back page as the headline. Sincerely, I had no idea if Paul would be staying or leaving during the summer. To my mind, the word applied to both situations.
The season’s climax was covered, and the captain gave it to a fan as a kind departure present. Alternatively, it might have been his final match for the team.
As everyone is aware, after three great performances for Scotland in the Euro Championship Finals in Sweden, McStay inked a new deal with Celtic.
I coordinated the Sunday Mail’s exclusive article, and it was always satisfying to outdo your competitors. Although I am aware that a publication had expressed interest in paying Paul four figures for his story, Paul fulfilled his word and provided the story to me.
From his goal-scoring league debut for the team in a 3-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie on January 30, 1982, to his final kick against Raith Rovers in a 1-1 draw at Stark’s Park on April 5, 1997, the player’s word became his trademark. His career was essentially halted by an ankle injury.
But in the summer of 1992, he was among the most sought-after football players, and I can disclose that a Serie A team made an offer that was far more than anything Celtic could have put together.
McStay signed a contract that would keep him at Parkhead for the rest of his life, despite the fact that he may have been tempted to quit Celtic for a brief while.
At the time, Liam Brady was the manager, and he informed me that “Celtic have just signed a £2 million player.” Back then, that was a sizable sum of money.
When McStay was back on the icy stairway at Celtic Park on a harsh winter’s night in 1995, he finally realized how much he meant to the Celtic fanbase. They had come out to honor a dedicated athlete who had meant a great deal to them on a gloomy night with almost no visibility.
And the Celtic captain took a seat by himself to think for a while. When I joined him, I thought I was invading. It seemed to sink in that night just what had happened.
That is the praise that one receives for being loyal. Billy McNeill was bestowed with identical honors. Those who pursue more financial gains will never experience those feelings.
