But the appointment of Stein was a game-changer, his young team developing at a tremendous rate.
The history-defining Scottish Cup Final triumph of April 1965, just weeks after Jock took the reins, gave Celtic an entry into the following season’s European Cup-Winners’ Cup.
First opponents for Jock Stein’s Hoops were part-timers, Go-Ahead of Deventer, beaten in the Dutch Cup Final by double-winning Feyenoord. Stein’s first Celtic side to play in Europe featured eight of the men who would start in Lisbon, eighteen months later, Craig, Wallace and Auld the missing Lions.
Lennox helped himself to a hat-trick, as Celts won 6-0 in Holland, Hughes and a Johnstone double completing the rout. Craig did make his debut in the return, McBride heading an early opener as the 20,000 crowd, expecting an onslaught, voiced their displeasure, as no further goals were forthcoming, despite a 7-0 aggregate win.
It’s a funny old game!
Next up was a trip to Denmark, to face cup-holders AGF Aarhus, McBride again scoring the only goal with a header.
Two first-half strikes from McNeill and Johnstone saw off the Danish amateurs in the return, a game marked by the performance of their goalkeeper, Bent Martin. He was signed by Celtic three months later, in February ’66, but failed to displace the established keepers, Simpson and Fallon, moving to Dunfermline within the year, where he would win a Scottish Cup winners medal in 1968.
The first European tie of 1966 came early, a January Quarter-final meeting with Soviet Cup-winners, Dynamo Kiev. Celtic’s largest European attendance to date, 64,000, saw the Bhoys take the lead within the half hour, through a long-range Gemmell effort, which deceived keeper Bannikov.
During the interval, they were treated to a ‘keepy-uppy’ display from a teenage George Connelly, walking around the entire pitch without missing a beat. The second-half belonged to another legend, Bobby Murdoch, his two goals securing a valuable three-goal lead, after Hughes had blasted a spot kick over the bar.
The return was moved from snowbound Kiev to the southern city of Tbilisi, a gruelling 31-hour journey.
The 45,000 Georgians who packed the stadium were on their feet as Sabo scored a spectacular opener on twenty minutes, his shot screaming past Simpson to go in off the post. It took another long-range special from Gemmell, ten minutes later, to level the match, soothing Celtic nerves, and the second half was tailing off, before a late brawl saw both Craig and Khmelnitsky dismissed.
The return journey was another long, fraught affair, the team finally touching down late on the Friday night, then heading straight to Celtic Park for a training session. The following day, Celtic lost 3-2 at Tynecastle, Craig dropped ‘by the club’ for failing to apologise to Robert Kelly for his sending-off, replaced at full-back by Billy McNeill! This decision would cause an angry Jock to confront his chairman, following which all future matters of team selection would be decided by the manager.
There were no travel difficulties for Celtic in the Semi-final, drawn against Bill Shankly’s Liverpool.
Like the Celts, the FA Cup holders were well on their way to securing a coveted domestic title and the April ‘Battle of Britain’, captured the imagination of supporters and media alike, over 76,000 packing into Parkhead to watch the sides face up.
