'I expect it to be tight. Celtic will have to fight,' says Jimmy Bone

Tuesday 11 December 2012

GAYFIELD PARK is about as far removed from the Champions League as it is possible to get; the sound of Zadok The Priest replaced by the crashing of the North Sea waves.

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Phil Gordon

However, when Celtic's players arrive tomorrow for their William Hill Scottish Cup replay against Arbroath, they will be following in the footsteps of one of their team's illustrious forbears.

Former Scotland striker Jimmy Bone – the last player to re-sign for Arbroath – was sold to the club by Celtic manager Jock Stein in February 1975, nine months after being an unused substitute in their European Cup semi-final with Atletico Madrid in front of 75,000 supporters at Parkhead.

Bone spent three seasons at Gayfield before Alex Ferguson signed him for St Mirren. Bone was so successful at Love Street that Stein later told him he had made a mistake in selling him."It was a bit of shock," said the last man to move from Celtic to Arbroath. "In those days, the clubs called the shots when it came to moving. If your boss said 'a club wants to speak to you', that usually meant he wanted you to leave. No-one moved more than strikers. I had a lot of moves – from Partick Thistle to Norwich City, then Sheffield United, then Celtic – I never spent much more than a year at each club."I loved my three years at Arbroath. It was a warm club – at least off the pitch – and one of the friendliest, which is why I went back there to end my career. It was also my first job in management, in 1985."With Gayfield, things are exactly the same now as they were then. The dressing room is tiny, so is the main stand. After Celtic, it was a bit of a contrast. Neil Lennon's players will have to overcome that on Wednesday."If it is a typical Arbroath night, then the wind, rain and snow will be blowing in from the North Sea. I expect it to be tight again and Celtic will have to fight."Bone says Celtic have given Scottish football a "massive lift" and, although their Champions League run has adversely affected their domestic form, he was taken aback when Arbroath managed to draw 1-1 at Parkhead. "Arbroath have a really good Scottish Cup pedigree at Gayfield. When I was there, we reached the quarter-finals and lost at home to Fergie's Aberdeen," Bone said. The cup also featured in Bone's Celtic story. He made his debut in a quarter-final replay in 1974 in front of 25,000 at Fir Park, as Stein's side beat Motherwell 1-0."My main problem was I had Kenny Dalglish and Dixie Deans competing for my position," Bone said. "Celtic won the Scottish Cup that season against Dundee United but I wasn't picked and was two games short of the total required to qualify for a medal when the team won the league. I got my first goal in December 1974 when we beat Dunfermline at home. I thought I would be back in the team, but it was my last game and I was sold in February."I don't regret going there. It simply wasn't meant to be. Maybe Arbroath was what I needed after Celtic and I relaxed and started scoring again. When Jock was Scotland manager, he told me 'you proved me wrong,' which meant a lot to me."

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'I expect it to be tight. Celtic will have to fight,' says Jimmy Bone

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