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THE CELTIC VIEW, 17th May 1989
MO JOHNSTON last week proved that he is the noble exception to what has become an infamous rule as far as Celtic fans are concerned in recent years. Ever since the early 70s it has been possible to discern a distressing trend developing since the departure of Lou Macari to Manchester Utd. Simply put it seems to have been the case since then that a player's declaration of undying love for the immortal hoops is simply a prelude to an inglorious exit.
PUBLICITY
And that certainly looked to be the case two years ago when Mo Johnston left in as big a blaze of publicity as when he'd arrived. But after his sensational return to Celtic Park last Friday Mo's happy to put the record straight regarding some of the events which led to his departure in the summer of 1987.
Said Johnston, who has become something of a national hero, following his World Cup goalscoring exploits for his country: "When I joined Celtic in 1984 it was like an answer to prayers, and I don't say that lightly. At that time I fully intended to see out my career with Celtic if the club would have me for that length of time."
CAREER
"I never fell out of love with Celtic, but certain events off the park had combined to convince me that I had to get away for a while if my career was to continue. "I accept my share of responsibility for some things that happened, but that could be put down to youthful high jinks rather than any serious behaviour lapses. "And when I joined Nantes it had always been my intention to return to Celtic one day although I'll admit that seemed unlikely at one stage given the circumstances surrounding my departure. No one can accuse me of being two-faced because I've always maintained that stance since then. I didn't intend to leave Celtic and I don't intend to now."
The Scottish international striker, who is now regarded as among the top three strikers in Britain, also took the opportunity of blasting some newspaper material that was circulating at the time of his troubles:
FABRICATED
"There was some fabricated rubbish about me wanting to join Manchester Utd. But it never entered my head to play for any other club. In fact there is no other British club I could play for apart from Celtic."
Johnston's signature. on the dotted line for a fee of £1.2m represents one of the major achievements of Billy McNeill's managerial career. He's always been blessed with a business acumen on the transfer market that few others can match. He has consistently come up trumps in this cut throat footballing stock exchange with what can fairly be described as limited resources. But what has also amazed football people about many of his big signings is the cloak of secrecy with which he manages to enshroud his dealings.
METICULOUS
Johnston's transfer was conducted with the meticulous planning usually reserved for getting a dissident unseen across the Berlin Wall. The blond striker though, is just happy the suspense is all over: "The initial moves were made several months ago and my biggest fear after that was that it would all fall through."
Of his exalted status in the international set up he commented: "I knew that if I played well for Scotland, Celtic would have to sit up and take notice." On his recent move into the ranks of fatherhood: "I'm no longer looking out for number one. My family comes first and that places a different perspective on things."
The time spent in France hasn't just benefitted Johnston. Celtic fans have also partaken of the fruits of the enforced exile. Now they will see, every week, one of Europe's top strikers playing in a green and white jersey. Johnston was popular right from the word go with the Celtic fans, who do not always so quickly bestow their outright favour on a new signing.
ADULATION
Sure every Celtic player will get -the support but adulation usually has to be earned. But it was evident after his first few games in late 1984 that Johnston would live up to his star billing. The goals of course, spoke for themselves. But other things endeared Super-Mo to the fans, despite the money on his head he never hesitated to put himself into the danger zone.
And unlike many acclaimed strikers he never hid during a game no matter how badly the game was going. On the few occasions when he had to suffer a prolonged period without the ball, he would dart back to defence to try to retrieve it himself. It's an endearing habit he's maintained with Scotland. And he's looking forward to the forthcoming fray next season, in particular the battles with Rangers: "I enjoyed playing against Rangers, but when I left I was unhappy about the fact that in games I'd played against them, Rangers were winning four matches to three. That's something I intend to remedy next season."