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Personal
Fullname: Francis Welsh
aka: Frank Welsh
Born: 14 May 1954
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 29 Dec 1971 (prov) / 30 Mar 1972 (full professional)
Left: 13 Sep 1975 (free)
Position: Centre-half
First game: Aberdeen 0-0 away 29 April 1974 league
Last game: Airdrie 0-1 away 22 March 1975 league
Internationals: None
Biog
A commanding centre-half Frank Welsh was signed in December 1971 from Avoca Amateurs on provisional terms.
He was initially farmed out to Shettleston Juniors and didn’t make his senior debut until he started the 0-0 league draw at Aberdeen on April 29th 1974.
Excellent in the air Welsh was earmarked as a potential successor in defence to the now veteran Billy McNeill (although there have been a number who have had this unenviable tag over the years).
However he never fully convinced with Celtic only winning one of the five league games that he played in, a 2-1 win over Dunfermline. Three draws and a defeat to Airdrie. It was to be the end of the nine-in-a-row seasons as Celtic finally conceded the league title to Rangers, coming third in the table. It was the final season for the First Division as the top tier as the Premier Division started up in the second half of 1975.
Despite the poor record for the team, as a centre-half defender his personal record was better than it appears. The side only conceded three goals, which is excellent in five games, and he was regarded to be good in the air. He was crippled by a groin strain that had dogged him for three years which hindered his progress.
Roddie MacDonald was to win out as the main successor to Billy McNeill.
Frank Welsh was eventually released in September 1975.
He headed south and trialled with Coventry City – a club that had recently given a contract to Jim Brogan who had also been released by Celtic on a free. This was not successful and he was not offered a contract.
He returned to Scotland and trialled with Hamilton Academicals in October, then under manager and ex-Celt Eric Smith, signing for them on a short term deal. He moved on to Kilmarnock run by manager and ex-Celt Willie Fernie in October 1975 and went on to make over 90 appearances with them.
He then joined another ex-Celt in management, Bertie Auld at Partick Thistle where he was relatively successful. He followed this with various periods at Morton and Hamilton Accies.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1971-75 | 5 | – | – | – | 5 |
| Goals: | 0 | – | – | – | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
none