Former Rangers striker Billy Dodds has revealed that he almost signed for Celtic twice. The ex-Inverness CT manager is often a pundit on the BBC but commented that Henrik Larsson’s injury almost resulted in John Barnes making a move for the then 31-year-old striker.
Speaking to the Scottish Sunday Mail, Dodds revealed that he nearly signed for Celtic on two separate occasions before being signed by Rangers.
“As a wee boy, your dream is to play at a big club and play for Scotland. My boyhood heroes were Rangers but I nearly signed for Celtic, twice. They had Larsson out injured, it came down to either me or Ian Wright — and they plumped for him!
“There was another time too when Celtic were showing an interest in signing me. If they’d gone through with it, I’d have jumped at the chance. But as soon as Michael Mols got injured, Rangers made their move. It came out of the blue and it was weird how it worked out.
“It was obviously later on in my career, it was my last chance to get financial security and my last chance to play for a huge club, so I was desperate for it to happen, as you can imagine.”
Celtic appear to have considered Dodds after Wim Jansen’s side stopped 10IAR with Dr Jo and Barnes. The decision to sign Ian Wright didn’t turn out as anyone would have hoped given the Larsson-shaped hole in the team. The Englishman was unable to replicate the fine form he showed at Arsenal and left having made just ten appearances.
Dodds ended up moving to Ibrox in 1999 after an impressive career in the Scottish top flight with spells at Dundee, Aberdeen and Dundee United. It is interesting to hear an ex-Rangers player say that he would have jumped at the chance to play for Celtic, especially someone that grew up supporting Rangers.
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