GAVIN STRACHAN is aiming to go back to the future in his new role as Celtic No.3.
The son of former Hoops manager Gordon knows all about the history of the club after attending some massive nights when his dad was in charge for four years after succeeding Martin O’Neill in 2005.
Strachan Junior was at Parkhead when Shunsuke Nakamura sruck his unforgettable free-kick winner in the 1-0 Champions League triumph over Manchester United in 2006 and Damien Duff’s replacement was at Tannadice two years later when Jan Venegoor of Hesselink bulleted in a header against Dundee United to clinch the league title.
The highly-rated coach quit as assistant manager to Darren Ferguson at Peterborough to join up with Neil Lennon and John Kennedy in the Hoops’ backroom team.
Strachan, speaking to Celtic TV, said: “I was lucky enough to be there on some of the big nights during that period.
“I know the atmosphere, I know what it means to everybody, so I’m just excited to bring more of those nights to the club and to the fans.
“I think that’s the motivation for anyone joining the club, to be part of those big nights. Feeling the stadium when it’s like that is such a pull and such an exciting part of anyone involved in football.
“The way that Celtic’s season pans out means that there are really big challenges early on in the season. It’s not like down the road where you get time to bed into the season, up here you’re right into it.
“Plus, there are the challenges of COVID protocols at present. I’ve only been here for a couple of days, but I can see that everybody is fully-aligned and up for those challenges.”
The Premiership season is scheduled to kick off on August 1 and Strachan Junior is determined to follow in the impressive footsteps of Duff who reluctantly left his post in the summer for family reasons while also accepting the role as Stephen Kenny’s assistant boss in the Republic of Ireland international set-up.
