The Quiet Assassin

Still one of the most relaxed men in the game, it wasn’t for nothing that Davie Hay picked up the most subtle, but lethal of nicknames

- Tony Connelly

ONE of the Quality Street Gang, Davie Hay broke into the Jock Stein’s Hoops team a year on from the triumph in Lisbon and went on to become one of the finest midfielders ever to wear the green and white.

His intelligence off the field was evident in his playing style on the pitch. He was a creative midfielder who showed a great understanding of the game and was a pivotal figure in the culmination of nine-in-a-row.

The Celtic legend, known as the Quiet Assassin, also returned to manage the Hoops and is now a Club Ambassador with the team he has always supported.

How did the events that brought you to Celtic unfold?

I was with St Mirin’s Boys’ Guild in Paisley when a scout called Joe Connor spotted me. His son, Chris Connor, played in the same team as me and from there I started training two nights a week at Celtic Park when I was 15. There were no S-Forms or Celtic Boys’ Club then. so that was how my connection started. When Big Jock arrived, I signed my first contract with the reserves. That was in 1965 and I was part-time for two years. That was the start of Celtic’s greatest period. I was studying to be a chartered accountant after leaving school, but I felt I was going to make it if I went full-time so after a couple of years I decided to go full-time.

What was the weight of expectation like in following on from the Lions?