The first week was nearly at an end and judging by the voluble chat in the dressing room, we were all surviving pretty well.
Oh! there were the usual complaints. The sprinters complained that there was too much long stuff; the middle distance runners objected to the amount of short runs; and those who did not like running at all moaned at just about everything. And there was usually a queue at Bob Rooney’s door complaining of blisters/muscle strains/cuts/grazes/etc. He did not deal with dandruff ; and if you were suffering from diarrhea or constipation, you normally phoned in sick! And yes, sometimes his room it could be like the TV series of the period ‘Emergency Ward Ten’.
The fans were always keen to know about what was going on at Celtic Park and on that particular day they got the chance to find out some club thoughts as the latest edition of
The Celtic Football Guide, covering the previous season, became available. I will deal with the ‘Manager’s Report’ after the weekend but the section which caught the eye of most fans was the ‘List of Players’ for the new season of 1967-68 –
| Name | Last Club | Date Joined |
| Robert Auld | Birmingham City | 1965 |
| James Brogan | St Roch’s | 1963 |
| David Cattenach | Stirling Albion | 1963 |
| Stephen Chalmers | Ashfield Juniors | 1959 |
| John Clark | Larkhall Thistle | 1958 |
| James Clarke | St Michael’s Kilwinning | 1967 |
| George Connelly | Tullialian | 1966 |
| James Craig | Glasgow University | 1965 |
| John Fallon | Fauldhouse United | 1958 |
| Charles Gallagher | Yoker Athletic | 1959 |
| Thomas Gemmell | Coltness United | 1962 |
| David Hay | St Mirin’s Boys Guild | 1966 |
| Samuel Henderson | Ashfield Juniors | 1962 |
| John Hughes | Shotts Bon Accord | 1959 |
| James Johnstone | Blantyre Celtic | 1962 |
| Robert Lennox | Ardeer Recreation | 1961 |
| Joseph McBride | Motherwell FC | 1965 |
| Hugh McKellar | Ardeer Recreation | 1967 |
| Patrick MacMahon | Kilsyth Rangers | 1967 |
| William McNeill | Blantyre Victoria | 1958 |
| Lou Macari | St Michael’s Kilwinning | 1966 |
| Robert Murdoch | Cambuslang Rangers | 1961 |
| William O’Neill | St Anthony’s | 1960 |
| James Quinn | St Roch’s | 1965 |
| Anthony Shevlane | Hearts FC | 1967 |
| Ronald Simpson | Hibernian FC | 1964 |
| John Taggart | St Patrick’s Coatbridge | 1967 |
| Anthony Taylor | Kilmarnock FC | 1964 |
| William Wallace | Hearts FC | 1966 |
| John Young | Neilston Juniors | 1961 |
John Cushley : left for WHU
© Daily Record
So, 30 players in total to cope with what everyone expected to be a tough season, with one player in particular having a lot depending on him, as one of the Glasgow evening papers pointed out that night –
‘Billy McNeill, who joined Celtic from Blantyre Victoria 10 years ago, is now the only recognised centre half on the Parkhead playing staff.
Since the end of the season, three pivots have left Celtic – John Cushley at a fee of £20,000 to West Ham plus John Halpin and Frank McCarron, on free transfers’.
There was some debate among the guys as to whether we would get the weekend off but right up to the end of training on that Friday, not a word had been said. Then, just as were changing after our baths and showers, Sean stuck his head round the door and with a twinkle in his eye and a lilt in his voice, uttered the definitive words ‘”See you in the morning, lads”. That put a Friday night out into perspective!