As the late, great Sir Sean Connery once told me, there’s nothing worse than a name-dropper. However, after a quite incredible week in the company of some true legends, it would be impossible NOT to mention them in today’s column.
Last Saturday, former Celtic boss Martin O’Neill – a genuine football great – was guest of honour at the St Andrew’s Hospice Sporting Dinner where he helped raise £47,000 for the brilliant Airdrie charity. This was the first time I’d been up close and personal with Martin (well, apart from May 2005 at Fir Park when I offered him a box of tissues after a 2-1 win for Motherwell on Skippy Sunday).He was in fine form. And, oh, how the audience loved it when he revealed he used to keep a photo of yours truly in his wallet to show to big John Hartson as a warning…
You know what they say – what happens at the Strathclyde Doubletree Hilton in Bellshill STAYS at the Strathclyde Doubletree Hilton in Bellshill – but there’s one snippet I can share. Did you know the hugely successful former Celtic boss – a European Cup winner (twice) when he played for Nottingham Forest – is a criminology expert? Yep, ask him anything about Lord Lucan, JFK, etc, and he’s like a talking encyclopedia. (Needless to say, he was fascinated when I told him about the Airdrie acid bath murderer who lost an arm after pulling out the plug…)
