Unforgettable fire
MacLeod never tires of recalling the glory days against old foes
AKEEN golfer, Murdo MacLeod will be familiar with the story of Doug Sanders — the American who missed a 30-inch putt which would have seen him win the 1970 Open at St Andrews.
Asked decades later how often he reflected on the moment that allowed Jack Nicklaus to claim the second of three Claret Jugs, Sanders famously replied: ‘Oh, I sometimes go five minutes without thinking about it.’
In any sport, moments of triumph and disaster remain fresh in the memory long after the clubs have been locked away or the boots placed on their peg.
For MacLeod, a 20-year playing career inevitably brought its peaks and troughs but the former very much outweighed the latter.
A scorer of six goals for Celtic against Rangers, those strangers stopping the 57-year-old in the street have never been short of conversational topics.
But it’s the first of those strikes — a 30-yard howitzer on the night 10-man Celtic beat Rangers 4-2 to win the league in 1979 — that remains closest to his thoughts.
‘It’s a great memory,’ smiled MacLeod 37 years on.
‘When you look back, most Old Firm players will always have a favourite Old Firm match.
‘Being 20 years old and scoring that goal with the last kick of the ball is very special. When that happens you just think: “I love these Old Firm games”. I’ve loved them to this day.
‘You can do the same against Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hearts or Hibs — do really well, score a great goal — but they always talk about things that happen in Old Firm games.
‘That’s the memories for all the fans. They want every one of their players to go out and work really hard, be aggressive, do their bit for the team and hopefully see the bonus of goals.’
Asked — as Sanders was — how often he thought about that moment or was reminded of it — MacLeod replied: ‘All the time. Just people telling me they were there and how special it was.
‘I’ve had that all down the years — not just about that game but even normal league matches.
‘When you score a winner in a cup final, to win the league or help stop 10-in-a-row, it’s fantastic that people still come up to you just to say: “I was there”.
‘That’s the thing about every fan. They always want to be supporting their team on a day that was special to the football club.’
MacLeod experienced the Old Firm fixture as a player and as assistant manager to Wim Jansen. He’s seen it make men of boys and turn solid citizens into timorous wrecks.
‘Whoever turns up on Saturday will win it,’ he offered. ‘It doesn’t matter how well you think you’re going to play, it will come down to who plays best.
‘It’s amazing over all the years some big-name players have played in Old Firm games and not performed. It just comes down to who handles it the best.
‘There’s a bit more pressure because it’s the first match of the season but, when you look at the players, a lot of them will be turning up not knowing what to expect. The game hasn’t been there for four years, so how do you handle it? You just turn up and play.
‘People always ask — how do you pick a player who’s good enough to play for Rangers or Celtic?’ added MacLeod. ‘You can scout them and they arrive and don’t perform.
‘How can that happen? There’s no formula. They either turn up and they can handle it or they don’t. You never really know.
‘One or two (who haven’t experienced the game before) maybe think they have to go out and be aggressive and dirty in the game. That’s not the way — you just have to have that will to win.
‘If people are telling you you’ve got to be strong and make challenges, you could get yourself in trouble. You just need to be prepared to work really hard.’
The sledging between Scott Brown and Joey Barton gives that particular duel prime billing.
As important as the midfield skirmish is likely to be, MacLeod feels the game won’t necessarily be won and lost there.
‘I think the Joey Barton-Scott Brown tussle in the middle of the park is what people are looking forward to seeing,’ he admitted.
‘That’s the talking point in terms of the aggression bit. But the rest of the talking points are all about the strikers — how are they going to perform? You’ve got Kenny Miller with the experience and Leigh Griffiths scoring goals. So people are looking at the positive football side.’
Were Celtic to get the better of Rangers’ fragile defence, the Ibrox men would have to go some way to deny Brendan Rodgers side a victory which would give them an early four-point lead — rising to seven if they beat Partick Thistle in their game in hand.
If that transpires, even at this early juncture, Mark Warburton would surely need to roll a double six to get back into the league race.
‘It wouldn’t be too big a gap,’ insisted MacLeod. ‘But Rangers would need to go on a run of winning games which they have not managed to do already.’