NAME the Celtic player to have scored over 100 goals for the club, including two in its second most famous game, was a huge part of the European Cup success and a vital presence in that dressing room for five decades in total.

Nothing so far? Okay, he had probably the hardest shot of any other player to wear the Hoops, is the most influential trainer to have ever donned a tracksuit and his portrait is now hanging outside Celtic Park where he has been rightly given his place among other legends.

If you hadn’t got Neilly Mochan by now then take a good long look at yourself.

But in saying that, there is something of the unsung hero about the man from Carron in Stirlingshire, which hopefully is about the change because too many don't know nearly enough about him.

A genuinely excellent documentary on Mochan by filmmaker and Celtic fan Luke Massey and his team will be released on December 1, the same day as a biography on the man, and it’s a must for any supporter who has even a passing interest in football history.

Just the right side of nostalgic, mixed with terrific interviews with many who worked and played with him, the affection they all held for Mochan, who passed away in 1994, is clearly genuine.

But it is a little strange that perhaps his name is, for some at least, not held up as highly as many others who to be quite frank contributed a lot less to Celtic.

This is from the CelticWiki site on Mochan.

“He may not be the most noted player we have ever had, however, he is the link to many of the greatest moments in our club's history. He was there for the Coronation Cup, Hampden in the Sun, the Lisbon Lions, ten men won The League and so on.”

And nobody else can say that.

“This film came about when we were making a documentary about the Quality Street Gang (out next year) and the writer of that, Paul John Dykes, had started writing about Neilly,” explained Massey whose background is feature films.

“Paul was going to interview all these guys anyway and I thought it would be great to film it because I was so interested in the story.

“Neilly was a bit of an unsung hero. I do think there is an element of him being the third man after Jock Stein and Sean Fallon. But even if he had not been part of that coaching team, I would have made the film anyway. He got the winner in the Coronation Cup Final and scored two in the 7-1 win over Rangers.

“He scored 100 goals for Celtic, was the trainer of the greatest team and an iconic player in the 1950s. I would hope the book and film will bring a lot more people to what he did for that club. It was a joy to make."

Mochan signed for Celtic in 1953 and played for seven seasons. It was a good Celtic team but not a particularly successful one in terms of trophies won, but the good times were about to happen when Jock Stein, his former captain, friend and fellow football innovator, took the helm.

As a player, Mochan, Stein and Fallon, who were to go onto become a pretty successful trio, were among the first to think about looking at what foreign clubs did and scouting opposition.

And when in 1965 Celtic made Stein manager, with his two coaches beside him, it was inevitable that this was going to work.

There are so many players on the film who talk about how vital Mochan was to Celtic in that era. He was the one everyone went to with a problem, he would let the dressing room know if the manager was in a bad mood and that they should be on their best behaviour.

“A buffer” is how Bobby Lennox described him.

Stein’s philosophy was to make his team the fittest in the land and that’s what Mochan did. He was there throughout that era and stayed on under Billy McNeill and David Hay. He was still there when Tommy Burns took over before he was struck down with his illness. Mochan was 67 when he died.

But while he could have been seen as some old timer by the younger players, the likes of Frank McAvennie and Andy Walker speak brilliantly about him.

McAvennie, for instance, recalled how he was subbed after scoring four goals. Not surprisingly, he was confused by this until McNeill pointed to Mochan sitting beside him. Neilly had scored five goals for Celtic. Nobody else was going to that.

Whenever there was debate about who was a great player, Mochan would say; “Look, son” which was something of a catchphrase and then preceded to ask the supposed superstar to put his medals on the table.

It is also worth watching the film to find out how, in his sixties, he was able to beat Andy Parton in a sprint around the Celtic Park pitch.

This is from his obituary in the Herald after he passed away from leukaemia.

“Neil Mochan was gifted with a truly venomous shot and his hard, driven low crosses from the wing were a constant source of danger to defences.”

That’s what everyone says about him as a player. He hit the ball harder than anyone else, with his left foot, and it must be remembered that in those days the balls themselves were seemingly made of steel.

Imagine one of his shots hitting you!

Massey said: “Archie MacPherson had a good line when he said that Neilly brought a touch of humanity to the dressing room.

“I actually think the relationship between Jock, Sean and Neilly was quite sweet, innocent almost. You don’t see things like that these days.”

There is a great line at the end which describes Mochan as “a great employee of the club.”

He was that and an awful lot more.

*Celtic’s Smiler, the Neilly Mochan Story is released by False 9 Media on December 1, as is the biography which accompanies the film.