Changed man Grant out to enjoy life at Celtic second time around

Published on Friday 19 June 2009 22:45

IN HIS 480 appearances for Celtic over a 13-year period, Peter Grant kissed the badge on his jersey many times. As a means of illustrating his devotion to the club, it was unnecessary.

No-one who watched Grant in action, during times more troubled than successful for Celtic, could ever have been in any doubt as to the depth of his feelings for them.

But Grant discovered that wearing your heart on your sleeve can often be self-defeating. As fiercely proud as he was to play so often for a club in whose traditions he was steeped, he reflects now on a time of his life he found difficult to enjoy.

It is why the man who formally returned to Celtic yesterday, as first-team coach under the new managerial regime of Tony Mowbray, is keen to emphasise the changes to his character and attitude forged by 12 years away from the Old Firm pressure cooker.

"I'm coming back as a different man," said the 43-year-old. "I haven't lost the enthusiasm, but I'm more in control and not such an emotional character. I think Celtic consumed me as a player. I loved being part of Celtic, but whether I enjoyed it is a different question.

"You never really enjoyed it. If you won one game then you were back in to get ready for the next game. The intensity of this club, going straight from being a fan to playing for Celtic, was huge for me. Both my grandfathers ran Celtic supporters' buses and Celtic was all I knew. My dad would tell me how rubbish I was after every game, so maybe that's why it wasn't so enjoyable!

"Seriously, I can enjoy it now because of the experiences I've had since leaving. My focus is different now and I know why things go wrong or go well. I understand managers' problems now and good and bad experiences have made me a stronger guy."

Grant admits he could never have imagined regarding the day he left Celtic as a positive turning point in his life. Following the arrival of Wim Jansen as manager, he was sold to Norwich City for 200,000 and was convinced his connection with Celtic had been permanently severed.

"I found it hard when I left at first," he added. "I remember the date clearly, it was 21 August, 1997. I drove down Kerrydale Street thinking 'don't look back, son. That'll be the last time you are at Celtic apart from being a fan'. I never thought I'd be back in any capacity, but I'm ecstatic to be back as a coach. Now I'm here, I can put my scarf back in the drawer and pull on a tracksuit."

One of the first messages Grant received when it became apparent he was heading back to his alma mater was from Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist.

He admits it would have taken a considerable leap of imagination for most people to envisage the former Old Firm sparring partners resuming their rivalry one day in opposing technical areas.

"I wouldn't have put a lot of money on Alistair and I being coaches at the Old Firm one day, put it that way," smiled Grant.

"He has phoned me a few times over the past week or so, asking me if we are going to be rolling about in the dug-outs before the first Old Firm game. He has told me he and Ian Durrant are waiting for me.

"I haven't been able to get back in touch with him yet, because his message box on his phone is always full. I know how much Tommy Burns thought of Alistair in their time together at Scotland and he has done extremely well."

Reclaiming the SPL title from McCoist and Rangers is Grant's primary objective in his new role but, like Mowbray, he believes European success is also within Celtic's reach.

"We have to win the league, that's the remit," he added. "But at the same time, our first competitive game will be a Champions League qualifier and we are desperate to get to the group stage.

"I thought it was an unbelievable achievement for Gordon Strachan to get to the last 16 of the Champions League twice and it deserved to be lauded more than criticised.

"We want to achieve that or better it. Getting into the group stage and then qualifying from the group, that's what we have to try and do. That would be success. Anything after that and you are very lucky." Grant is confident the new managerial team will prove resourceful in reshaping and reviving a squad which looked jaded during the latter days of Strachan's tenure.

"It definitely doesn't need major surgery," he said. "We feel there are guys here who have still not performed the way they can. We feel there are some fantastic players in this squad and we know there is more to come from some of them.

"But even successful teams bring in new players. It's what you do, you try and bring a freshness to the team. We will leave no stone unturned to bring in new players. We know there are financial constraints. You can only spend so much money. That means our job is to go out and find these players.

"We did it at West Brom and I've done it at other clubs. When I was at West Ham United, we found the likes of Nigel Reo-Coker for 250,000 and then sold him for 8.2million. So the players are there, you just have to find them.

"Hopefully they will want to come here not just because of finance, but because of the way we play the game."