Dr Mark McGuigan cut an imposing figure as he strode across the reception area of the main University of the West of Scotland building on on the outskirts of Hamilton to greet your correspondent earlier this week.
The good doctor, the former Partick Thistle, Albion Rovers, Stranraer and Stenhousemuir forward and Celtic first team fitness coach who is now a lecturer in sport coaching at the university, stands 6ft 4in in his stocking feet.
It is hard to believe he was released by the Parkhead club when he was 15 because it was felt that he lacked the physicality required to compete in the professional game - and maybe no wonder he has taken such a keen interest in the reasons promising Scottish kids are struggling to establish themselves in senior football since.
The East Kilbride-born player may not, like countless other gifted prospects to feature in the Glasgow giants’ youth sides both before him and after him, have fulfilled his boyhood dream of playing for the Scottish champions.
But McGuigan has done something which very few others have – completed a PhD at Celtic.
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His thesis – which is titled “Transition from youth to first team football at an elite level club: A multidisciplinary perspective” – was written during the four years that he spent working in a variety of roles at Lennoxtown and with the assistance of numerous players, coaches and members of backroom staff.
His paper makes for fascinating reading. Those who are currently attempting to address what has become a major problem in our national game in recent years would be well advised to acquire a copy. It was certainly a labour of love for the author.
“My own personal lived experience is probably a huge part of where my academic interests now lie,” said McGuigan. “I had ambitions to make it as a footballer at Celtic and was ultimately unsuccessful. I went through what thousands of teenagers go through and had to rebuild again.
“I was at Celtic from when I was nine until I was 15 and thoroughly enjoyed the majority of it. I did well during the first few years, experienced very little adversity and progressed. I was one of the more technical players and was highly regarded.
“But I was a late developer physically. I was born in November and was young for my age group. In my final year, my team mates shot up, filled out and got stronger. I was left behind. I started to get used less and less.
“When I was turning 16 and full-time contracts were being handed out I was told I would not be able to handle the demands of it. To be honest, I probably wasn’t ready. I was 19 when I reached the height I am now. But we have a better understanding of late developers these days.
“It was tough when I was released. My head was completely gone and my heart wasn't in it any more. Looking back now, that was a great opportunity for me to develop a bit of resilience. But I didn't have the coping skills I needed. I was unable see it as the challenge that it was. I took it harder than I should have.”
Disillusioned and downhearted, McGuigan dropped out of football altogether for a while. He only really got back into the game several years later when he was a student at Abertay University in Dundee. He turned out for their side, made an impact and was selected to represent the Scottish Universities team. That led to him returning to the professional game.
He took part in a friendly against Partick Thistle, impressed then manager Jackie McNamara and Simon Donnelly and was offered a full-time contract. He spent two seasons at Firhill before moving on to Cliftonhill, Stair Park and Ochilview. He followed a circuitous route and then some.
However, his studies were of as much interest to him as his form up front when he graced the lower leagues.
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He was offered the opportunity to pursue a PhD at Celtic – who have a long-standing partnership with the University of the West of Scotland – four years ago while he was completing his Masters in sports coaching and performance analysis. He jumped at it and did not have cause to regret his decision.
"When I was discussing what to do my thesis on, my own experiences as a young player really came to the surface," he said. "I thought, 'Why don't I investigate what the transition journey is like for kids who are trying to get from the youth team into the first team at Celtic?' It was also different to what the two other students at the club were doing.
"I combined my research with my work there. Celtic were really supportive. They allowed me access to first team players, to coaches, to stakeholders across the academy. They all wanted to get involved and participate in the research. It was fantastic for me.
“Working with and supporting players at that level was an unbelievable experience, the next best thing to playing. You get to really understand the complexities and the dynamics at working at that level, how to be part of a multidisciplinary team, how to treat, integrate with and communicate to international footballers.
“There are egos involved, there are players who are out of the team that you need to keep happy, if the side even drew a game it was an absolute disaster. Being in that kind of high-performance environment was incredible, really invaluable. It will live with me forever.”
McGuigan continued, “I joined during Ange Postecoglou’s first season and worked with the B team as a sports scientist initially. I then became the under-18 conditioning coach. I eventually moved on to the first team when Brendan Rodgers was in charge and had a spell as their fitness coach.
“The level that Brendan has worked at really speaks for itself. It was great to tap in to the knowledge he had. But he is a really personable individual as well, someone who cares deeply about all of his staff and all of his players.
“If you were sitting by yourself in the canteen at Lennoxtown for breakfast or whatever he would always come and sit with you and chat away. He is that kind of guy. He was always really open and prepared to share his opinions on different topics in the game.”
The players impressed McGuigan enormously too. They offered an insight into the high standards which youngsters must strive to attain on a daily basis if they want to break into the Celtic first team and remain there.
“The vast majority of them have got an incredible work ethic and dedication to their craft,” he said. “That was the thing that struck me most. They set an incredible example for the young players up there who are trying to reach that level.
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“James [Forrest] and Alastair [Johnston] were just relentless in training, in everything they did. The other ones who stood out for me were the Japanese players. They were really, really thorough. They had incredible gym routines and were completely devoted to them.
“Daizen [Maeda] was meticulous when it came to his training preparations. He was very rarely in the gym lifting weights, he was more about being functional and fresh and ready to perform. Everyone has got a different background. Reo [Hatate] did proper strength conditioning. He knew how to lift and was physically very strong.
“But they were both equally dedicated in their own way. They had this tunnel vision almost when it came to their training and their performances as well. It was really eye-opening. They players didn’t accept any passengers either. That was maybe the biggest shock to me.”
McGuigan identified one quality which all of the players who had managed to force their way into the Celtic first team and stay there for a prolonged period of time possessed during the course of his research.
“Having a strong mentality was the golden thread that ran through the thesis,” he said. “The guys I spoke to who had made it, and nobody is named as is common academic protocol, had all played with players who were more talented than they were when they were young. But they all had a strong mentality and that made the difference.
“If you don't have the mental fortitude, if you don't have the resilience, if you don't have that ability to cope psychologically in the moment then you'll never survive at a club like Celtic.
“That is the number one attribute. Everything else, fitness, technique and football intelligence, is clearly important and cannot be diminished. But if you don't have the mental coping mechanisms to play at that level, to handle pressure, to handle stress, then it's very, very unlikely that you will sustain your place on the team.”
McGuigan, though, is convinced that necessary mentality can be developed over time if a club manages a young player’s development closely and professionally. He believes that being loaned out to lower league clubs in the correct manner at a young age is not just helpful but vital.
“You're not just playing with and against better players, you're playing in front of crowds,” he said. “You have fans who are for you and fans who are going to be giving you all sorts of abuse.
“You're playing for points and win bonuses. You're going into a hyper-competitive first team environment where you've got an older, experienced professional who maybe see you as a threat because he thinks you're possibly going to take their position.
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“Utilising the loan market is extremely important. With the greatest will in the world, it's impossible for any academy to replicate a first team environment. Even Manchester City can’t do that with all the money they have. That's not a criticism, that's just the reality.
“So it's then about how you innovate. How clubs send players out on loan is one way of doing that. They can’t just throw players out on loan and then say, ‘Great, we've got 15 boys out on loan’. They need to manage it closely because there's nuance.
“A boy of 16 or 17 may not need to play every single week. Just sampling a first team environment can sometimes be important. As they get towards 18, 19 and 20 it becomes more of a performance loan. Clubs are looking for them to actually go and perform and contribute.
“It is important to stress that loans need to be managed. Loan managers and pathway managers are now crucial roles. Clubs need to invest money in them to make sure that what players are experiencing is enhancing their first team readiness. If it isn’t then it’s not of value.”
McGuigan continued, “You hear some ex-pros moaning about that word pathway. But the players need a pathway. If they aren't good enough then they ultimately won't make it to the first team. But how do clubs know that? They really need to invest properly in establishing and manufacturing the best route for them.
“If they can expose players who are aged between 16 to 21 to those difficult experiences I mentioned and then gradually stretch them, put them into environments which are increasingly challenging within a supportive structure, that is going to help them. That's the way forward.
“Clubs need someone with experience, someone with the right personality, someone who is able to develop partnerships with clubs and form strong relationships with players. There needs to be a structure, a methodical approach. They need to do it properly.
“People who have a natural ability to overcome adversity have had that shaped early in their life. But resilience can definitely be developed within a supportive environment. If a young player is sent out on loan, doesn’t play and is then recalled, they will maybe see that as a disaster. But if they're supported they won’t. Mentality can be nurtured.
“If a younger player of 16 or 17 goes on loan and struggles, doesn’t get into the team every week, has fans shouting abuse at him when he plays, has a first team manager question his ability, I would look at that and think, ‘Great! You're not going to get that in an academy’.
“Research shows the earlier that happens the better. A young player who is highly talented, who is physically strong at an early age, who has been told he is the top man all of his life, is suddenly no longer the big fish. They are saying, ‘What do you mean I'm not in the team?’ But a good loans or pathway manager then says, ‘This experience is massive for you. This is how we now develop it’.”
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The SFA have worked hard with all of the SPFL clubs to try and increase the number of young players who successfully establish themselves in the senior game during the past couple of seasons.
The cooperation system, which allows Scotland-qualified youngsters to be recalled from loans by their Premiership and Championship clubs whenever their services are required, was introduced last year and has upped game time for under-21s significantly during the short time it has been in operation.
The SFA also announced a range of groundbreaking proposals – which will offer clubs financial incentives for playing kids in the William Hill Premiership, Premier Sports Cup and Scottish Gas Scottish Cup and penalise those who fail to do so if they are passed – during a meeting which was convened in St Andrews last week.
McGuigan is encouraged by what he is seeing and hearing and is hopeful that more kids will come through, including at Celtic, in the years to come than has been the case in recent seasons as a result of the groundwork which is being laid.
He even predicted that it could stop the mass exodus of nascent talent to England – whose clubs are no longer able to sign players under the age of 18 from mainland Europe due to Brexit – despite the riches which are on offer to kids on the other side of Hadrian’s Wall.
“It will take time to see what the fruits of the cooperation system are,” he said. “But I like the idea of them. It is definitely a move in the right direction.
“Players are getting experience, they are being exposed to a first team, they are developing. But the key thing, as I have mentioned, is the detail behind the loans. They need to be supported on their journey.
“But I am optimistic for the future because this is being spoken about now. There definitely does seem to be an appetite for change. I think clubs are prepared to invest in this over time.”
McGuigan added, “Celtic are under so much pressure to win every single game. There is no margin for failure. They perceive putting young players in as a risk and I do get that. The board, the manager and the team cannot afford to lose.
“One of the players I spoke to when I was writing my thesis recalled how the team had dropped points at home in one of his first games. The reaction from the fans was like nothing he had ever experienced.
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“But I do hope that with this change in approach earlier in the process, with a definite move towards exposing players to first team football at a younger age, they are helping them to develop a skillset which will enable them to cut it at Celtic.
“It can also help to keep players. A lot of their best kids have moved down south at 16 and 17. There is an argument that Scottish clubs can’t compete with the money on offer in England. That may well be the case.
“But I would like to think that if youngsters can see their future development mapped out in a really structured and methodical way then they will stay even if they are going to be earning half of what they would at, say, Liverpool. There must be a pathway.
“If a real talent at Celtic or Rangers is being courted by clubs down south when he is 15 he is entitled to ask, ‘What is my pathway into the first team here?’ But they no longer have that recent history of players breaking through. Hopefully, though, that is changing and they can now see the benefits of staying.”
McGuigan has been delighted to see Colby Donovan feature extensively in the Celtic first team in the absence of Alastair Johnston during the 2026/27 campaign.
He fully expects the 20-year-old right-back to go from strength to strength in the seasons ahead. The reason? Donovan has exactly the same mindset as the likes of James Forrest, Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney.
“Colby is one of the players who has the top attribute,” he said. “His main strength is his mentality in fact. I worked closely with him for a number of years and he is a great boy, a really funny kid.
“He was a very good player, but he was not a guy who you would ever look at and say, ‘He is an exceptional talent, a real world beater’. But he is very committed and his mentality is spot on. He is fearless. He is not someone who is ever going to be derailed by a bad performance or by any negativity.
“Even if he doesn’t make it at Celtic, he will have a career somewhere because of the way that he goes about his work. I am delighted he is getting a shot now. Who knows where he will go?
“He is still in that really early phase in his career. He won’t consider himself a first team player, he will know there is still a lot of work to be done. But he has certainly got the mentality to kick on and establish himself. Hopefully we will see more like him come through.”
