"THE LISBON LIONS NEVER KNEW WHEN WE WERE BEATEN - THAT WAS A GLORIOUS ERA FOR CELTIC"

The legendary defender on his seven glorious years at Celtic, fighting for breath in South Africa and passing his club tie on to Rod Stewart

- Interview Richard Purden

Sir Alex Ferguson and yourself grew up in Glasgow’s Govan area around the same time, in the early 1940s.

.. That's right. Sir Alex went to Govan High School and I went to St Gerard’s, which was very local. Around 40 years later, he said to me, ‘You should have gone to Govan High, Jim - we'd have been good friends’. We also played against each other when he was at Rangers.

You turned professional at Celtic in 1965, aged 21, just as Jimmy McGrory ended his 20-year tenure as manager and Jock Stein took the reins...

Jock got on with everybody when he arrived, but demanded you didn’t ask questions to anyone but him - not the coaches or anyone else. I was a dental student at the time as well. I asked if I could see Jock; he wondered if it was about football and I said, ‘No, dentistry’. I asked him if it was possible to spend two afternoons at a dental practice each week. I suggested Tuesday and Friday as that wouldn't affect training and he replied, ‘Go ahead’. When Celtic were about to go on a summer tour, he asked if I wanted to go and I said no. Jock was understanding and knew that, in those days, you needed a career after football.

You were part of the Lisbon Lions team that won the 1967 European Cup. How was Stein during that run?