However, he had a gentle side also. Tommy Burns tells of the time he arrived for training as a 17 year old on a particularly rainy day, ‘like a drowned rat’. When his manager asked where his raincoat was, Tommy informed him that he was on £15 per week and could not afford one. The next wage packet Tommy received had an extra £30 in it with the message -’Get yourself a decent coat’. It’s not clear if Stein personally gave the money but he would have authorised that extra payment at least.

To stop the men from becoming exasperated Jock explained that Jim Brogan was his first pick. Rangers had a strong physical presence and could easily intimidate opposing teams and he explained that you had to fight fire with fire. Only by playing the likes of Brogan, Hay and Murdoch could the likes of Johnstone, Dalglish, Hood and Lennox be allowed to express themselves and perform. This was a rare insight into big Jocks mind. The irony is that Celtic won the fixture due to a dramatic last minute goal from a certain Jim Brogan. Perhaps Jock really did have the gift of foresight.

In recent years there has been a lot of discussion over the Knighthood that Jock did not receive in the 1960’s. It is generally regarded that Stein refuted initial approaches which are never recorded as no one can be seen to refuse such an ‘honour’ For that reason Robert Kelly was given a knighthood in 1969, the establishment’s recognition of Celtic for their European triumph in Lisbon. Kelly was a good man with fine morals and ideals but it is difficult to imagine why he would receive such an award if Stein had not initially declined. Anyway Jock was very much a man of the people and ‘Sir Jock’ just doesn’t sound right. Better to leave that to those in life with more inflated egos.

The Ibrox disaster would, no doubt, have left a psychological scar on him in 1971. After the Celtic team bus had departed, Stein had stayed on to assist Rangers officials and the emergency services and had helped move the injured and dying. There are many people today who would do well to remember this.

In May 1997 the Pavilion theatre in Glasgow performed the ‘Jock Stein Story’ and a fine production it was too. John Stahl played big Jock, he is best remembered for the role of ‘Inverdarroch’ in Take The High Road, and a fine job he made of playing Stein. There is a part in it where Jock is given the chance of moving to Manchester United as manager and discusses the move with his wife, Jean. After giving it consideration he recalls his days in Llanelli and how his house in Hamilton had been burgled and the misery this had caused. Celtic made their move thereby ensuring that he return home, move house and never again have to go down a mine to earn a living. He decides that he owes Celtic too much and declines the move to Old Trafford. He may have felt that he owed Celtic but it is Celtic who will ever be in Jock Stein’s debt.

When he became Scotland manager he would often drive South to watch his Anglo Scots play, especially in Manchester or Liverpool where it was only a three hour drive away. John Clark had just been (very unfairly) sacked by Celtic in 1983. Stein phoned him and arranged to take him South in his car for company, a move which John greatly appreciated. As they were driving into Liverpool they were stopped by a traffic cop who was concerned at their speed. When Jock explained where they were travelling to, the cop recognised him and gave them a personal police escort to ensure they made the kick off.

He died in 1985 in very public fashion. A lot of nonsense was spouted at the time that this was the way he would have wanted to go which spares no thought for his family and the turmoil they endured. Had the big man lived he would have been feted like a king for the rest of his days and his advice and experience may have been a help to Celtic in a period when they found themselves struggling.

On a wet and windy September day Jock Stein was laid to rest. Unknown to me, my Father and some friends gained a ‘pass oot’ from the shipbuilders and stood on the road approaching Linn crematorium which was lined with people paying their respects. I was annoyed as I would like to have gone but there was something fitting about those men attending by themselves. If Stein was Celtic’s general then they were the foot soldiers who had faithfully followed him through Celtic’s glory years and who trusted him implicitly. One can only imagine the memories they had on that sad day.

Jock Stein was a modern day Moses who led the Celtic fans into the promised land, giving them success and glory they could never have dreamed of. The Jock Stein stand is a fine memorial to Jock’s memory but there’s still plenty of room at the front entrance for a huge statue of the man, holding that huge European Cup, so that future generations of Celtic supporters will be in no doubt as to his importance in Celtic‘s history.

After all these years I can still find myself saying…God bless Jock Stein.

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