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Fullname: Charles Patrick Mulgrew
aka: Charlie Mulgrew, Charles Mulgrew
Born: 6 March 1986
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 1 July 2010 (free from Aberdeen)
Left: 31 August 2016 (to Blackburn on a free)
Position: Left-back, centre-back, centre-half, midfielder
Debut: SC Braga 3 – 0 Celtic, Champions League, 28 July 2010
Squad No.: 21
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 44
International Goals: 3
Biog
First Stint
Having progressed through Celtic’s youth system, Mulgrew turned professional in July 2002. By January 2006 he had yet to make his debut for the club’s first team, so in order for him to gain competitive experience he was loaned out to fellow SPL side Dundee United for the remainder of the 2005/06 season.
A successful spell at Tannadice saw him feature regularly, scoring 2 goals (both free kicks) in 14 appearances and being named SPL Young Player of the Month for February. He then returned to Celtic hoping to force his way into first team contention, but was transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers shortly thereafter without ever appearing for the Bhoys.
Mulgrew joined Wolves in part exchange for left back Lee Naylor on August 23, 2006. He made his debut for the club on September 10, 2006, in a 1-0 win at Leeds United. However, injury kept him out of most of the campaign and he was unable to force his way back into first team contention afterwards.
He was loaned out to League One side Southend United at the end of the January transfer window for the remainder of the 2007/08 season, which saw the club lose in the play-offs to Doncaster. He scored his first goal for the club against Carlisle United, although Captain Adam Barrett claims he got a touch.
At the start of the 2008/2009 season he transferred on a free to Aberdeen and found a good deal of success with the Dons during his 2 year stint there. However he was not forgotten by the coaching staff at Celtic, and his Celtic time was to have a second life.
Second Stint
After a successful spell for Aberdeen, newly appointed manager Neil Lennon made Charlie Mulgrew the first new signing (sic!) for Celtic of his managerial reign.
Said to have left Aberdeen in difficult circumstances after being jeered and harassed by some of their fans for having said that he “doesn’t give a **** about Aberdeen”, although this is likely apocryphal, and there is no evidence he said it. From his general behaviour it does not seem characteristic of him.
Initially deployed as a left back, Mulgrew suffered a torrid start to his second spell at Celtic and soon lost his place with Neil Lennon first preferring to play Joe Ledley out of position at left back before Emilio Izaguirre was signed and made the left back slot his own with a series of swash buckling performances. For the rest of 2010 Mulgrew was limited to reserve team action and providing cover from the bench. 2011 started much brighter for Mulgrew, a combination of injuries and international call-ups (2011 Asian Cup), along with a desire from the manager to make the team much more solid, meant that Mulgrew made an unexpected start on the left hand side of midfield for the 2 January trip to Ibrox. Mulgrew put in a solid performance as Celtic ran out 2-0 winners.
Further injuries to the established centre back pairing of Majstorovic and Rogne during January and February 2011 meant Mulgrew was pressed into action as an emergency centre back. Mulgrew seized this opportunity with both hands turning in a series of assured performances, particularly being dominant in the air and providing excellent distribution from the back. Time would tell if this was a brief cameo during a purple patch of form, or was a sign something more to come. However at the very least Mulgrew had shown that he was a valuable squad player able to provide cover in a number of positions. Mulgrew rounded out the 2010/11 season as a first choice central defender, and capped his breakthrough with the final goal in in the 3 – 0 Scottish Cup Final victory over Motherwell.
As a measure of his increased confidence and ability, he was not afraid of taking a chance at goal, and against Dunfermline he scored a screamer of a long-range shot from well outside the box that left the goal keeper flapping in his wake (22 Feb 2012). If he was a higher profile player, the goal would have been shown repeatedly worldwide via every forum.
However, there was more and his ability throughout the whole 2011/12 season made him a firm favourite. This was no easy season with chopping and changing throughout the team every game, and Mulgrew himself being shifted between left-back, central defence and defensive midfield, but he played his part and did chip in with some excellent cracking goals. The title winning match v Kilmarnock (6-0 win on 7 Apr 2012) was the Charlie Mulgrew show as he scored two and set up two others, and all the goals were excellent with great crosses. The only reason he wasn’t involved in the other two goals was because he was subbed off by the time they happened. The crowd was in awe of this man.
Season 2011/12 season was the dream season for him. Celtic finally regained the league title, and Mulgrew was a core player in the side. Many highlights for him that season, but the greatest moment was a diving header against Rangers from a corner in a 3-0 victory in the last ever match against them which set things off nicely. A red card in a 4-2 defeat to Rangers early in the season was the only blip, but he more than made up for that. A good haul of goals and a mainstay in the squad, really highlighted his worth. That season he went onto win many personal honours including clean sweeps in player of the year awards. He really was on top of the world.
The 2012/13 saw the thankful loss of the now liquidated Rangers, and domestic dominance was sealed with a confident league title. For Mulgrew and all the biggest tests were in the Champions League, and in the classic match v Barcelona at home, Mulgrew like many others in the side played out of his sock in the incredible 2-1 victory. It was his excellent corner that connected with Wanyama’s head to create the first goal that set things going. Others were more greatly heralded, but Mulgrew as a central player in the side that day must be given his due. Another great highlight was scoring the winner for Scotland against Estonia in a qualifier. He had now achieved all he could have dreamed possible for himself in football.
Inevitably, things were to turn. His form did begin to slip in the following season, but this was in line with many other Celtic players of the time. Lennon had hit a glass ceiling in his managerial ability at Celtic, and this meant players’ form were to regress. Still we won the league title but in Europe and at home, it wasn’t great. Mulgrew was to begin getting flak too, mainly as his performances weren’t impressing as they once were. His pace was declining and his judgement slipping.
Charlie had in some ways become a bit taken for granted. He may not have had the panache of many old greats, but he did his job with no issues or questions despite any preferences for playing in other roles. Whether in defence or midfield he gave his all in every game, and was a valuable player.
What was most important was that on his day he could be a good player who relied on heart, something every successful team needs. He may not have had the talent or skill like some of his peers, yet he was highly resourceful in practise for the first team. Mulgrew knew that Celtic was the biggest stage he’d likely achieve in his career and he was grasping the blessed second chance he’d been given with both hands.
Didn’t stop him being an easy target for online moaners, but he just carried on and in fairness, he was playing to the best of his abilities and playing in the roles asked of him. Sometimes he was used in midfield, other times in make shift roles in the defence. In some ways,the coaches seemed to not know how to utilise him best as his form declined.
What became comical was having once been seen as the booboy from the terraces now on the pitch. He had also acquired some glam style hairdo which made him a butt of jokes for some. No big deal, he had the income to do so, so why not? But then again it looked very camp and silly.
In some ways, he personified Lennon’s time at Celtic. When the team was on a high so was he, but as things declined then so did he (and it was to be a vicious circle). He punched above his weight despite early misgivings ahead of his second time at Celtic and a very shaky start. Some of the highs led to plaudits beyond anything that could have been ever expected. For that he should be respected.
Things were to start stepping down under Deila, and by this stage he was a veteran of the first team.
Season 2014/15 became a hindrance after injury ruled him out for a long stretch. With performing and upcoming midfielders in the squad in Biton and Johansen amongst others, competition was strong and the emphasis was changing under Deila. In effect, Mulgrew was no longer a first choice despite any past popularity and it was clear it was time to accept the relegated status as a squad player rather than first team pick.
The nadir for Charlie was August 2015. Izaguirre had been having a rough start, and for the vital match v Malmo in the Champions League qualifiers, Mulgrew was preferred. It was a gamble but failed miserably. He lacked pace and was targeted as Celtic were to be ignominiously dumped out the competition. Didn’t help that he wasn’t given a set position which meant he was multi-tasking but not mastering a single role.
He still played as a filler in a number of games across his final seasons, but his best attributes were long gone. The defeat to Sevco in the Scottish Cup in 2016 showed he was not providing any additional drive to the side, but he still gave his all. He was in some ways becoming unintentionally a liability, but the coaches were at fault for this too, shoe-horning in Mulgrew when their plans weren’t working so leading to Mulgrew taking the flak. Didn’t stop the repetitive over the top criticism by a perma-raged online minority, who can best be ignored.
Little used and now very much at the back of the queue for first team places, Mulgrew left Celtic on a free for struggling Blackburn in 2016. Incredible to realise it but Mulgrew had been on the books at Celtic for around ten years in total over his two spells, and he not only has great memories from his time but he has very much played his part in creating them too.
He will in retrospect be remembered fondly, and there are many good highlights to pick out from on his time at Celtic.
Post-Celtic
Following Celtic, he was to make a name for himself at Blackburn Rovers and Wigan. At Blackburn, he helped the club return to the second tier and win promotion in his second season after suffering relegation in his first. He had a fine record, with around 109 appearances and 27 goals, which is quite a scoring rate for a centre-half at any level of the game.
An interesting point on him, was this was at an age when many would slow down, but Mulgrew kept going and was as combative in his older years as in his younger years, reflected in that the Scotland managers (which included his former club manager Gordon Strachan) had faith in him and they continued to utilise him, and even became the captain of the national side. In truth, there were many cynics who felt he long overstayed his time in the Scotland team and was preferred out of certain preferential treatment by the managers. Regardless, he won 44 caps with Scotland, much to admire.
He made a name for himself in his professionalism and became probably one of the first vegans in British football which around 2018 had started to become quite a popular new diet for athletes, whereas before it was seen as an extreme niche if not loony but all cynics were to eat their words on this one or at least their greens. Mulgrew was some evidence that the diet could help prolong a career, and much respect to him for that sacrifice which clearly worked for him.
He wrapped up his playing time with Fleetwood Town in the English third tier, and then a move to Dundee Utd where he helped them stop Sevco’s 40 game unbeaten league run giving a man of the match performance.
Charlie Mulgrew retired from play at the age of 37.
We wished him the very best for the future.
Post-Playing Career
In June 2024, he had two contrasting emotions. Firstly he lost out to fellow ex-Celt Johnny Hayes for a place in the Celtic youth set-up for coaching, at same time his son Joshua Mulgrew signed his first professional contracts with Celtic at the age of 16.
[….]
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2010-11 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 35 |
| Goals | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2011-12 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 44 |
| Goals | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 2012-13 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 49 |
| Goals | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 2013-14 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 40 |
| Goals | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2014-15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 18 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015-16 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 17 |
| Goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Total Appearances | 130 |
15 |
14 |
44 |
203 |
| Total Goals | 20 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
29 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish Premier League
Scottish Cup
Scottish League Cup
Scottish PFA Player of the Year
SPL Player of the Year
Pictures
Links
KDS threads
- Leaving Celtic: http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/9293973/
Articles
Celtic sign Charlie Mulgrew from Aberdeen on a free
24-year-old returns to Parkhead after a four-year hiatus… By Adithya Ananth (www.goal.com)1 July 2010
Celtic have signed full-back Charlie Mulgrew on a free transfer from Aberdeen, bringing the defender back to Parkhead after four years.
The 24-year-old originally came through the Bhoys youth academy and signed a professional contract in 2002, but four years without breaking into the first-team meant that he had to be loaned out to Dundee United in 2006 to gain some experience.
A successful time at Tannadice saw Mulgrew feature on a regular basis, scoring two goals through free-kicks, which were some of his earliest exploits on his way to becoming a deadball specialist.
The versatile left-back – who can also play as a left winger – then returned to Parkhead in the hope of carving out a place in the first-team, but was instead shipped away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on a permanent transfer that was part of the deal that saw Lee Naylor move the other way.
Ironically, it is now Naylor who has left the Glaswegian giants upon expiry of his contract, with Mulgrew making a return to his boyhood club.
He has now put pen to paper on a three-year contract with the Hoops.
Charlie Mulgrew caps fine season by being named Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year
Charlie Mulgrew paid no heed to the adage that you should never go back – and on Wednesday his second spell at Celtic saw him scoop the accolade of Scotland’s Player of the Year, to be presented by the Scottish Football Writers’ Association at their annual awards dinner in Glasgow a week on Sunday.
Charlie Mulgrew caps fine season by being named Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year
By Roddy Forsyth
Telegraph.co.uk
Mulgrew is also contention for similar reward from PFA Scotland this Sunday and, either way, the 26 year-old has enjoyed one of the most memorable passages of his career.
When he became Neil Lennon’s first signing as Celtic manager on July 1, 2010, Mulgrew returned to Parkhead and the club from which he had parted company two years previously, to join Aberdeen after loan spells at Dundee United, Wolves and Southend.
He scored his first goal for Celtic in the SPL at Rugby Park in October as the side recovered from an astonishing 3-0 deficit at half-time to draw 3-3 and begin the long unbeaten run which proved to be the foundation of their current title success.
As well as acquiring his first championship medal, Mulgrew cemented his place in the affections of the Hoops’ faithful with a spectacular bounced header to open the scoring against Rangers in Sunday’s 3-0 victory in the final Old Firm derby of the season.
The chances are that he would have enjoyed nothing like these highlights had he not accepted Lennon’s invitation to don the green and white jersey again.
“Who knows? It’s hard to say, but what I know is that when I went away I learned a lot and I grew up a bit,” said Mulgrew. “I don’t what would have happened to me if I hadn’t left but I think the fact that I went helped me.
“No-one said to me that I’d taken things too lightly but when I left here I realised that everything is handed to you and when you come through as young player at Celtic, everything is easy – and you take it for granted a wee bit. Then you go away and you realise how big a club this is and how well you are treated and you appreciate it.
“I wanted to go and make a career for myself and I had belief in my own ability that I could do well for myself, though I maybe never thought I would come back here – but it’s happened that way and I am delighted.”
Mulgrew’s prominence this season has not been the consequence of his establishment in a single position. He has featured at full-back, centre back and in left midfield although, when asked for his preference, dodged the question with a gag – “I would go in goal, you don’t have to run about as much” – before responding in more measured terms, while still keeping his options open.
“I don’t think versatility is a hindrance. If you can play in different positions, then there are three or four chances of getting into the team. It is a good thing and it teaches you the game,” he said.
“I look back on every game and I’m quite critical of myself. That’s just the way I am – I can’t help it. “
When it was suggested that he would find nothing to fret about in the manner of his spectacular header against Rangers, Mulgrew did manage to add a caveat. “Yes but before I got that goal, there bits and pieces I was not happy with – on the ball,” he explained.
As for the prospect of further development in what is a comparatively young Celtic team – the average age this season has been generally just above the 23 mark – Mulgrew declared that thoughts had already turned in that direction.
“Of course. You need to improve every season. We need to kick on again and look to make inroads in Europe – that will be the minimum requirement next year,” he said.
“We have got a great squad in there – including three guys, Izaguirre, Kayal and Commons, who didn’t play for us a lot this year, but who will be huge for us next season – and maybe the manager will bring one or two in. It is still a young squad, with everybody in their mid-20s or younger.”
And was that Kilmarnock game his finest moment of the season? The Mulgrew tendency to self-condemnation kicked in again when he said: “That was good, but I came off with cramps. I didn’t drink enough water!”
Charlie Mulgrew rejects ‘caveman’ diet as he becomes a vegan
It’s strange to be sitting in Peru talking to Charlie Mulgrew about cooking. Or is it?
The country is one of the world’s food hot spots. Miraflores, the area of Lima where the Scottish team is based, is viewed as South America’s foodie capital. Still, it’s not common to be talking to a Scottish footballer about turning vegan, which, to all intents, is what Mulgrew has done after noting health scares in his family history.
The younger members of the Scotland squad have not quite bought into it. “They’re boaking when my lunch comes out,” says Mulgrew.
But it’s an important issue which Mulgrew is right to take seriously. His father has had a heart attack and his father’s parents both had heart attacks in their early 70s brought on by high cholesterol levels. So what Mulgrew did not need in his Celtic days was a dietitian recruited by Ronnie Deila telling him to eat more meat.
“That was the complete opposite (of what I’m doing now). It was the caveman diet: high fat, just meat,” he recalls.
“My body fat was low, I was ripped. I was injured at the time so it was easy for me to do. But when I went back training I had a lack of energy and my cholesterol was through the roof. And I have a history of heart attacks in my family.”
His protests were met with advice to increase his meat consumption. “The dietitian who came in was brainwashed to think this was the way to do it,” he says. “To be fair, it stripped everybody’s fat, everybody’s body fat was down. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you are fit enough. It is hard when someone is brainwashed to then say ‘that isn’t working for me’ because they say ‘you need to do it more’.”
When he eventually had his cholesterol checked by the club doctor, it had doubled, hence his new outlook now. Not that he has been guided down this road by a professional dietitian. Rather, he was influenced by documentaries on Netflix.
“I’m easily led,” he smiles. “That’s basically it. I have just tried to educate myself on eating and that sort of stuff. I’ve felt brilliant on it. When you’re young you eat a kebab at three in the morning and then you train okay and you think ‘I might just keep that going’. But you realise as you get older the wee margins make a difference.”
Mulgrew believes he is fitter now than when he was 19 years old and in his first spell with Celtic.
“It is hard,” he adds. “I don’t tag myself as vegan because I might go up there (to the hotel restaurant) and have a scoop of ice cream after my lunch! But it’s hard, because you need to work out how to cook. We’re brought up thinking meat, carbs and veg is a healthy meal. But now you need to base it all on veg really. You need to swap chicken with sweet potato and that sort of stuff. It’s not easy.”
Helpfully, his wife, Alana, has been swept up in it too. “She’s the same, she’s up for all that stuff,” he reports. “To be fair I do most of the cooking now. She’s learned to cook a few things as well but both of us do it. There is still the whole chicken nuggets thing for the weans, we can’t turn them!”
Mulgrew himself would once have turned his nose up at the mere suggestion of a plant-based diet. But he realises that in order to prevail at a high level you must consider treating your body with more care. Other high-performing sports people such as F1 Lewis Hamilton and tennis sisters Serena and Venus Williams have recently converted to a vegan diet in a bid to remain at the top for longer.
Mulgrew, recently installed as captain under new Scotland manager Alex McLeish, has every reason to want to prolong his career. As he says himself, you’re a long time retired. It is heartening to hear there was never any question of him trying to avoid coming on tour to Peru and Mexico with Scotland.
Now 32, he has just been promoted back to the Championship with Blackburn Rovers, the club he joined from Celtic two years ago. The aim is to get back to the English Premier League, where former Scotland manager Gordon Strachan, one of his mentors, was still playing at age of 40. He was famously aided by a diet consisting largely of bananas and seaweed.
“He’s an influence on me,” says Mulgrew. “I had good chats with him. He has good views on keeping fit and stepping up your training rather than bringing it down as you get older, and training how you play and that sort of stuff. I’ve become a big believer in that.”
Charlie Mulgrew reveals his epic Celtic balaclava prank that left rookie security guard a sweaty mess
The 34-year-old admits he cooked up an elaborate ruse with his teammates after eyeing the new recruit.
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ByGraeme YoungDaily Record sports writer
14:26, 5 AUG 2020
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/charlie-mulgrew-reveals-epic-celtic-22473821
Former Celtic prankster-in-chief Charlie Mulgrew has lifted the lid on the time he left a rookie Lennoxtown security guard sweating as he posed as a car thief.
The Parkhead hero was right up there with skipper Scott Brown when it came to Hoops hijinks and admits an overeager staff member became a prime target.
The 34-year-old – who left Celtic in 2016 – has revealed he cooked up an elaborate ruse with his teammates after eyeing the new recruit.
And Mulgrew has explained how a wild goose chase at the club’s East Dunbartonshire training base left the Celtic employee with “p*** sweating aff him”.
Speaking to Open Goal, he said: “I’ve come in one Saturday morning and walked in the door still half-asleep.
“The boy at reception jumped up and went: ‘Morning!’
“I was like, ‘he’s on it today’. So I walked in and said, ‘boys, I’m going to get changed, put some different gear on and a balaclava. Tell him there’s somebody in the car park’.
“So I went out the car park trying motors. I think it was Joe Ledley went, ‘mate, there’s someone out in the car park trying motors’.
“He’s like that: ‘so there is’. He’s jumped up, he’s got all the CCTV and everything, he’s f****** sprinted out the door.
“I’m running the motors, he’s like that ‘get out!’ I’m like, ‘no, I’m not leaving till I’ve got a motor’.
“He’s chasing me around motors, the boys are like that, ‘get him!’
“He chases me up the hill, he’s coming like that behind me thinking, ‘first day, I’ve got to put my authority down.’ You can tell he’s nervous as f***.
“This went on for about 10 minutes, he’s chasing me around trees and all sorts. Eventually I took the hat off and he’s like, ‘oh no, you’ve done me there.’”
Charlie Mulgrew on blowing his first chance at Celtic, seizing the second and why he’s not given up on Scotland after Tannadice return
There must be a couple of hundred at least. Boys and girls, different ages, crowded on the verges, some in trees, and nearly everyone has a cameraphone when once it would have been autograph books. Then the shouting starts: “Pogba! Pogba!”
By Aidan Smith
Saturday, 7th August 2021, 4:55 am
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/charlie-mulgrew-on-blowing-his-first-chance-at-celtic-seizing-the-second-and-why-hes-not-given-up-on-scotland-after-tannadice-return-3337579
“I don’t think so,” says the man I’ve come to St Andrews to meet, when the fuss dies down. “I’m pretty sure it was ‘Mulgrew, Mulgrew’. I was peekin’ out of the clubhouse’s top window and they spotted me.”
Well, who’s to say otherwise? Who’s to say, at the university playing fields where the veteran’s Dundee United always train, and where Paul Pogba’s Manchester United are visitors today, that the chant got lost on the breeze and had in fact listed half the Tangerines’ team: “Pugh, Pugh, Charlie Mulgrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub”?
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Who’s to say that the pop-star adulation wasn’t for the man with the pop-star haircut, Mulgrew’s long flowing locks requiring regular attention during our chat and dabs from a tub of styling cream? And who’s to say the giants from “the Prem” aren’t here to spy on Mulgrew’s free-kick technique, the most recent example of which was the audacious 35-yarder against Arbroath after spotting a near-post gap?
Mulgrew’s last appearance for Scotland was against Russia in 2019 but he’s not given up hope of more caps
Mulgrew’s last appearance for Scotland was against Russia in 2019 but he’s not given up hope of more caps
“That’s what the screens are for,” he says, pointing to the dividers separating the clubs’ respective portions of the lovely lush Fife turf to keep the joke going a little bit longer. “They’re not to stop us from going on their patch; it’s the other way round. I’ve just had to ask Darren Fletcher to leave. We don’t mind Man U coming up here but we don’t want them staring at us.”
It’s obvious that Mulgrew – long and successful spell at boyhood heroes Celtic and 44 caps for Scotland – has settled in well as an Arab. But then Dundee United were where he began to find his feet as a player so there’s a symmetry to his return.
“I was here on loan for half a season [2005-06] and I thought it would be a nice story for me to finish my career here.” Then he checks himself; he doesn’t like thinking about the boots tied together on the metaphorical hook.
“Football institutionalises you,” says the 35-year-old. “Competing, winning and losing – it’s all you know. The endorphins the game releases in your brain become addictive. I guess the minute I stop feeling the passion, stop enjoying football, stop wanting to win will be when I’ll quit, but this has been my life since I was 16 and I still love it.”
Mulgrew in action for Dundee United against Arbroath when he scored with an audacious free-kick
Mulgrew in action for Dundee United against Arbroath when he scored with an audacious free-kick
Mulgrew’s contract with United will take him past his 37th birthday. Everyone tells him: best days of your life, play for as long as you can. “I like hearing about guys who go on and on,” he says. One such is Gordon Strachan and Mulgrew quizzed his old Celtic and Scotland boss on playing until 40. “Two bananas a day and two hours’ kip – that was his secret. I told Jamesie Forrest and he said: ‘What, two bananas, that’s all he ate?’ I’d love to get a couple of hours on the sofa but that’s impossible with three kids. So to compensate I’m on 12 bananas a day.”
Mulgrew likes a joke and is a regular on his old Parkhead mucker Simon Ferry’s Open Goal podcast where the pair might recall youth coach Willie McStay’s valiant efforts to ennoble his charges (eg, by asking the bus driver to play the Champions League theme, just before the team disembarked for a cup-tie on a dog poo-strewn park in Auchenshoogle).
Another daft story concerns the young prospect being called up for end-of-season testimonials for Roy Keane and Alan Shearer, allowing him to lord it over the other reserves. There were gifts and Mulgrew was like a kid at Christmas. Later, at a team meeting, Tommy Burns asked him: “Did you get your Omega watch, Charlie?” “Oh aye Tommy.” “And your 32ins plasma TV?” “Oh aye Tommy.” “It’s Zinedine Zidane’s testimonial next, do you fancy playing in that?” “Oh aye Tommy – any word on what we’ll get?” Sparking great guffawing, Burns said: “Three-piece suites.”
But our man has serious ambitions: “I’m really interested in becoming a manager. Sure, it’s a merry-go-round but I think without even realising, I’ve learned a lot about the game from my time playing. I’d like to try and put that to some use.”
His own bosses have thrown up some interesting character studies: Mick McCarthy at Wolves, Jimmy Calderwood at Aberdeen, Tony Mowbray at Blackburn Rovers and the Celtic quintet of Martin O’Neill, Strachan, Neil Lennon, Ronny Deila and, however briefly, Brendan Rodgers.
In the case of Lennon, “thrown” was occasionally a good word. “If Lenny wasn’t happy about something he could turn the changing-room upside down. Tables could go flying and one time a plate of prawn sandwiches ended up on top of Jamesie. The prawns were sliding down his cheeks but he didn’t dare move a muscle while Lenny was ranting.” But – and he stresses this – a great man-manager, the best he’s known.
It was only going to be football for Kirkintilloch-born Mulgrew. “Where I’m from when I was growing up, there were only two teams in the world and you wanted to play for one half of the Old Firm or you wanted to play for the other lot. It seemed like a dream but a local lad, Stephen Crainey, had made it to Celtic. I was like: ‘Maybe I could get there from here.’”
He did but the teenaged Mulgrew was “miles off it”. Despite five titles at Parkhead and the 2011-12 hat trick of player-of-the-year awards – league, football writers and fellow pros – he’s most revealing about his years of underachievement. He says: “You come to Celtic and get given things: the best facilities, the best food, the best travel, the lot. Then all of a sudden you make the squad. Half a win bonus. Outside the stadium folk want photos.
“It’s a false sense of security and of achievement. At least it was for me. You think you’ve made it big but you haven’t, far from it. You’ve done nothing.”
That’s when he was sent out on loan to Dundee United where he remembers there was a different manager for each of his first three games – Gordon Chisholm, Billy Dodds, Craig Brewster – but clearly this hasn’t dimmed his aspirations for joining this precarious profession. His “car club”, setting off for Tayside from the Little Chef at Cumbernauld, were all future bosses: Derek McInnes, Jim McIntyre, Mark Kerr and Alan Archibald. “They called me ‘The Big Baby’ for always falling asleep – not when it was my turn to drive, obviously. One day, though, we’d come back down the road after a double session from Brewster and I was scrabbling around for my keys. ‘Guys,’ I said, ‘I must have left them at the gym.’ They all burst out laughing, of course, and then I noticed smoke coming out of my exhaust. I’d left the engine running at the Little Chef from 8.30 in the morning until five o’clock. None of them has ever allowed me to forget that.”
That hasn’t been Mulgrew’s only car park mishap. In 2010 he and wife Alana were confronted by bra tycoon Michelle Mone who spotted two-year-old son Josh in the babyseat while the couple were shopping. Mulgrew has laughed off the incident during TV punditry but admits he won’t be allowed to forget it, not least by the boy, now playing for Celtic’s Under-14s. “Josh Googled it. ‘Did you actually leave me?’ It’s a family joke now, whenever he isn’t feeling the love.”
Back at Parkhead after the loan Mulgrew was soon heading out of the door again, this time permanently, the dream seemingly over. “I thought I was ready but I wasn’t. I thought I’d grown up but I hadn’t. And my attitude was: ‘I’ve been at Celtic – who are Wolves?’ It’s quite embarrassing to admit that now.
“I thought I was going down there to play. I didn’t realise there would be guys in the team who’d really grafted to be there. But Mick McCarthy showed me how to train properly, how to live my life properly. I knew nothing about diet and was too heavy.”
Another spell out on loan, at Southend United, seemed to flick a switch. “That definitely made me grow up.” Next stop: Aberdeen. “I didn’t miss a game there for two years.” Pittodrie was good while it lasted but Mulgrew decided not to renew his contract. “My eye was elsewhere,” he says, and Lennon took him back to Celtic as the new manager’s first signing. That may have slightly underwhelmed the Parkhead faithful anticipating a procession of star names, but it enraged Dons fans who booed their ex-player throughout on his first return north. He scored the winner that day, with a celebration that esteemed human-behaviour expert Desmond Morris might have labelled “Get it right up yez”. “I wasn’t proud of that,” says Mulgrew, “but folk have to understand the emotion of football.”
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Lennon played him just about everywhere: left-back, centre-back, left midfield, centre midfield. Usually he wouldn’t be informed of his role until the day of the game. Unnerving? “No, I loved that, it was exciting. It also meant I had four opportunities to make the team. The season I won the player-of-the-year awards I didn’t start but then Emilio Izaguirre broke his leg. All those players now who get petted lips when they don’t play – it’s a long campaign and it can flip.
“What Lenny did brilliantly was recruit guys from lesser teams who were at exactly the right stage in their careers. I was buzzing to be back at Celtic. That was my opportunity and I had to make things happen. I knew there would be pressure and didn’t get off to the best of starts. But by then I had the tools to cope.
“Lenny chose players who would respond well to his management and be able to take a bollocking.” (And the occasional flying prawn). “There were a lot of tough things said in that changing-room but there had to be. This was the cutting edge of sport and a club that can’t be beat; losing wasn’t allowed. The truth, however hard to hear, had to be accepted – by the leaders in the team as much as anyone. There was a fear factor, too. The last thing you wanted after a Lenny bollocking was another one any time soon. The guy’s passionate. He knew what we could do and wanted us to be better.”
Mulgrew has one regret about his standout season – his father Charlie, a joiner to trade, died just as he was getting into his stride and so missed him collecting all his individual silverware. He’s remembered in a tattoo on Mulgrew’s right arm: “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
“My dad was a big influence on my career. He always believed in me and I was always aware of that. He couldn’t watch me play, though – too nervous! If one of my games was on the telly, he’d leave it recording and only turned it on later if he’d managed to find out if we’d won. He did come to a Scotland Under-21 international at Rugby Park but had to hang round the back at the pie stand.”
A YouTube compilation of Mulgrew’s best moments in green and white includes cup final rockets, championship clinchers and popping the ball on Victor Wanyama’s head in the vanquishing of brilliant Barcelona. Studying them, it seems strange that he might have been under-appreciated in the stands, but Celtic fans concede this.
In 2016 he left the club. “They’d offered me a new contract but I wanted something different.” Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk and Gary Hooper had all moved to England and he decided to follow suit. Blackburn Rovers slid into the third tier but Mulgrew helped them come straight back up to the Championship. Mowbray installed him as captain – also encouraging him to try and score direct from corners, resulting in three goals in rapid succession – and it is this relationship as much as any other which is prompting him to contemplate management.
Before then, though, there are still games to be played, beginning today for United against Rangers. “Everyone will need to be at their best but we think we can rattle them,” says Mulgrew, who loved the Old Firm battles, a diving header in one victory being especially memorable. And he isn’t done with Scotland either. “My first cap was a proud day for me and so was my most recent during qualification for the Euros. Hopefully there could still be more and I’m here if they need me.”
But right now that’s no longer on this green and pleasant sports field. Our chat ends abruptly when he’s reminded he’s due over in Glasgow in a TV studio to commentate on Celtic. Grabbing his kit including the trusty hair gel, at least he hasn’t forgotten a child, or to turn off an engine.