CELTIC’S new first team coach Gavin Strachan has hit the ground running at the club’s Lennoxtown Training Centre this week, and now can’t wait to roll up his sleeves in domestic and European competition when those fixtures come around.

When his father Gordon was manager of the Scottish champions between 2005 and 2009, he sampled a number of big games at Celtic Park and on the road – not least a historic 1-0 Champions League win over Manchester United at Paradise in 2006, and an equally important 1-0 league title-clinching victory over Dundee United at Tannadise in 2008.

“I was lucky enough to be there on some of the big nights during that period,” Gavin Strachan told Celtic TV, in reference to when his dad led the Hoops from the dugout.

“I was lucky enough to have been there the night that Nakamura scored the free-kick against Manchester United in 2006, and also Vennegoor of Hesselink’s header against Dundee United to secure the title in 2008, so 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.”

Gavin Strachan: I know the significance of big nights at Paradise