Out!

Another injury, another match on the sidelines. To be perfectly honest, by this time, after two injuries in quick succession, especially to the same part of my body, I was beginning to think that I was destined to be one of those players whose career was going to be blighted by injury.

That sounds terribly dramatic, I know, but that is what recurrent injuries can do to even a sensible player, which I would hope that I was at that time. Logic goes out the window, to be replaced by despair and frustration. I had been playing organised football since I was 10 and had never had an injury which kept me out of action. Oh! I had received cuts and bruises and so on but they had never kept me out of the next match. Now, all that had changed and shortly after getting my chance in the first team, my ankle seemed to be letting me down and I was sitting another match out!

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The Ankle

Wispy tackle causes recurrence of ankle injury.
© Daily Record

After the great result against Hearts in the quarter-final replay of the Scottish Cup on the Wednesday evening, 9^th March, I should have been ‘over the moon’. Unfortunately, though, having taken that challenge from my future teammate Willie Wallace – no malice intended, it was just a clash between competitors – I was really suffering, the ankle having throbbed all night, giving me very little sleep. Continue reading →

Comment

On the day of the match, there was much anticipation in the sporting press about this particular game. The first match had been the subject of a great deal of praise – although neither manager was particularly happy with their respective defences – so the return was eagerly awaited.

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The cup-tie against Hearts on the previous Saturday was still receiving much attention in the press, most of it complimentary. The following was typical of the response;-

Tynecastle Thriller

‘There have been many terrific battles between Hearts and Celtic but for power-packed drama and excitement, Saturday’s cup-tie at Tynecastle made the others look like Sunday School outings’.  

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The Morning of the Match

I had got the nod from the Boss to join the party travelling to Edinburgh for the Scottish Cup tie with Hearts, so I made my way to Parkhead for mid-morning. And what a difference it made when I was able to drive my own vehicle all the way! No more of this jumping on and off buses and being asked by conductors about the game in Scotland; funny how few of them were Celtic fans.

I was in a reasonably good humour. I had almost got over the fact that I was missing out on the game by that time and was keen for us to reach the next round, so I approached everyone with my usual enthusiasm and was rather surprised by the reception I got. Without anyone saying anything, I could clearly see that the boys were worried about the match and obviously the events of four weeks previously, when we had lost to Hearts in the league at Tynecastle, were still preying on more than a few minds.

Anyway, that was for them to worry about. At the Norton Hotel, our usual base on the western outskirts of the city, where we stopped for our pre-match meal, while the rest of the players were having a choice of chicken or fish, at my table, where I was seated alongside the Boss, Neilly Mochan, Bob Rooney and Jimmy Steele, we all had three courses!

Not playing does have its benefits!

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Treatment (1)

I was becoming a little weary of the hot/cold water treatment. I was back in for a session on the Tuesday night – but only after I had done some running and sprinting – had to turn up again on Wednesday lunchtime, then back again on the Thursday evening. I was feeling pretty good and running fine, although I must confess to failing to admit that a lot of painkillers were going down into my system as well!

The Dean

I got a surprise message from the Dean’s office in mid-week, saying that he would like to see me, so I got myself along there promptly. I also had a good idea of the topic that would be under discussion.

In order to be allowed to sit the final examinations, every dental student had to accumulate a certain total of points – awarded for the number of fillings, scalings, dentures, crowns etc. performed on patients. I was seriously struggling for numbers in this area, as I was taking too much time off to attend to my other duties at Celtic Park, including one trip to Tbilisi.

I had passed all the relevant exams but that points total was becoming a real problem and I just knew that my lack of numbers would be the area under discussion. And it was. The Dean could not have been more pleasant – and I was grateful for that – but he did come up with a solution to the problem.

Normally, final year students in dentistry take the first part of their finals in March and the second part in June. So, in order for me to catch up on the points total, he suggested that I did the first part in June and the second part in September. A perfect solution, for which he got my eternal thanks.

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The Afternoon of the Match

Classes all morning; patients all afternoon. Time for a bite to eat at a local café just down the hill from the Dental Hospital. Then into the motor and a leasurely drive out to Celtic Park. This was the life?

Except that it wasn’t. I was thoroughly annoyed at picking up that injury and missing out on a couple of matches, just when I had got myself into the side. There had been the missing out of the Hearts match – which had turned out to be for disciplinary reasons – when Celtic lost 2-3; then there was another miss, due to injury, this time at Stirling, where the club lost again, this time by the single goal. Were those two poor results just bad days, or was the defence more solid when I played? Amazing what you think about when you are on the sidelines!

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Reaction After the Stirling Defeat

The papers went ballistic on the Saturday result against Stirling and probably rightly so. Celtic had been on a good run for some months, so to drop 2 points to a team 4^th from bottom was unexpected, to say the least, and the Celtic players, like every player at a time like that, were publicly being asked all the usual questions. Did you under-estimate Stirling?; did you take them lightly?; had you not prepared well enough? etc, etc.

The answer was, as it often is, that the lesser side treats the match like a cup final and puts every single piece of effort into it, whereas the bigger club has had a bad day at the office, probably individually a little off par, while at the same time being put off by the slope of the ground. It was not the first time that Celtic had under-achieved on the Annfield slope and it would not be the last, either!

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Morning of the Match

Much to my surprise, my Mum had been very concerned as regards my current injury. Her normal response was “well, you shouldn’t be playing that daft game, anyway” but this time, she was much more sympathetic. Deep down, I think she was enjoying the fact that the people she met while doing her shopping were now asking her questions about me, the club, the players and so on and she had become a wee bit of celebrity.

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The Ankle –One Day On

The ankle was pretty painful on the Thursday morning, stiff and solid, a slight throbbing sensation as well. I found getting ready for work a bit difficult – my bedroom and bathroom were upstairs – and driving to the Dental Hospital was also quite uncomfortable. For the first time in ages, in fact since my last injury, I used the lifts at the Dental Hospital.

At lunchtime, I drove over to Celtic Park, where physio Bob Rooney gave me the hot/cold treatment so prevalent for ankle injuries in those days. The procedure was quite straightforward ;-

1. Fill the small bath with hot water, so hot that the player cannot put his leg into it!
2. Take the large hosepipe used to fill the big bath, turn the temperature control to very cold and fire a stream of water at the patient’s ankle, making sure that he is crying, if not sobbing at the end
3. Tell the player to put his leg back into the hot bath. Naturally, because his leg is numb, the player will not initially feel anything but gradually the heat will come through.  When that happens, and before the pain from the heat becomes too great, repeat the blasting with the cold water.
4. Repeat this process a number of times, or until the player faints.

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