TODAY, CELTIC PARK, 3PM
the Dens gaffer following a behind-the-scenes bust-up that saw him move to Hibs in January before heading down the other end of the M8.
Bain refuses to go into details on the row with the Dundee manager but insists it has also been the making of him because he was forced to dig deep into his character reserves.
He added: “I’m a little bit surprised at how well I’ve handled the move to Celtic but I’ve always been quite laidback in terms of playing and crowds.
“That game at Ibrox for example. It was the next level from anything else I’ve experienced but I just went out to enjoy it because I thought it might never happen again.
“I just have that mentality naturally. It got tested when I was at Dundee. It probably helped a little bit that I was managing to get through it and it made me that bit stronger. I started at Aberdeen and was released so I had to go part-time and get a job. From that moment I realised I’ve got to enjoy it.
“I’ve been at the bottom, the scrapheap as you would call it.
“Any time, even at Dundee after coming from Alloa, you just have to try to make the most of it.
“You don’t know how long it’s going to last, do you?”
In revealing his goalkeeping heroes as a kid were Antti Niemi and Gordon, Bain laughed as he admitted the guy who turned up to sign for Celtic wearing a Hibs tracksuit was a Hearts fan as a youngster.
So too was Gordon and Bain has heaped praise on the man whose jersey he ultimately seeks to fill for helping him to settle at Parkhead. He added: “Craig’s a big chilled, laidback guy. I’m the same. He’s getting back fit now – he’s moving well and looking sharp. “It’s a case of me playing well and it will then be in the hands of the manager when Craig is fit. All I can do is play as well as I possibly can. “However, even being around the place has pushed me to another level. I hadn’t played a game for a long time before I suddenly had the chance to play for Celtic at Ibrox. “People were probably a bit nervous about that but if they’d come in and watched me training day to day then they would’ve known I would be fine. “The standard’s so high and the players are so good. It meant when I went in goal at Ibrox I felt comfortable with the situation.”
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