Touched Ally McCoist says he has nothing but respect for the Celtic players who presented him with a signed gift following his final game for Kilmarnock in 2001 – and he treasures it to this day.
The Rangers hero was the scourge of the Hoops many times but he reveals there were no hard feelings after he hung up his boots, signing off with a 1-0 win over Martin O'Neill's team. Celtic had already stormed the league and went on to win the Treble but McCoist's Kilmarnock went out on a high with a 1-0 win, courtesy of Alan Mahood, that fired them into fourth place and the UEFA Cup qualifiers.
There may have been a hint of selective forgetfulness on show from McCoist as he insists he "can't remember" if O'Neill's famous side won the league that year. But he admits he was touched by the Celtic players who came into the Kilmarnock dressing room and presented him with a signed shirt, which he still holds dearly today.
Asked on talkSPORT about his final game as a player, he said: "My final game was for Kilmarnock against Celtic, and the goalscorer was Alan Mahood, am I right? We beat Celtic 1-0 to qualify for Europe.
"The final thing was, the ironic thing, Kris Boyd came on for me as a substitute. After that game, I'll tell you another thing, the Celtic players must have been gutted about the result although they also qualified for Europe – I can't remember if they won the league that year. Anyway, one of the boys came in and presented me with a Celtic jersey that all the players had signed."
The studio were then surprised he's kept it given his connections across the city but a respectful McCoist said: "I've still got it, absolutely. What, did you think I gave it to next door?
"It was a very nice touch. I'm completely serious, respect. It was very kind of them to think of that."
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