GAVIN STRACHAN admits he would be daft not to lean on his dad Gordon for advice as he follows in his footsteps onto the coaching staff at Celtic.
The 41-year-old has replaced Damien Duff as part of manager Neil Lennon’s backroom team, and he is all too aware that comparisons between himself and his old man – who managed the club between 2005 and 2009 – are inevitable.
But as much as he is willing to go to Strachan senior for advice on occasion, he is also determined to show that he is a top-level coach in his own right while at the club.
"Listen, I'm 41 now and have been dealing with the comparisons since I was 15,” Strachan said.
"But our careers have gone down such different paths I've just cracked on with my own thing.
"As the years have gone by, and certainly since I've gone into coaching, I'd be daft not to use his experience and knowledge and ask how to deal with certain things and certain situations.
"But he's really good, he never forces his opinion on me or force advice on me - but he's there for me if need be.
"He didn't know anything about it until it was quite far down the line, to be honest. I think he was quite surprised but then he also understood the connection I had with John Kennedy and Lenny.
"He just said 'you've got to go for it. haven't you,' but I was going anyway!”
Strachan wouldn’t be drawn on the goalkeeping situation at Celtic as he looks to get his feet under the table.
“I haven’t been here long enough to really get a grasp on recruitment,” he said. “But there is work going on behind the scenes.
“We just have to have faith in the guys making those calls. Speaking to Stevie Woods and Nicky Hammond briefly, they’re certainly working very hard on that side of things, I know that.”
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