Danny McGrain
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Daniel Fergus McGrain[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 1 May 1950||
Place of birth | Finnieston, Glasgow, Scotland[2] | ||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3] | ||
Position(s) |
Right back[2] | ||
Youth career | |||
Queen's Park Strollers | |||
1967–1970 | Celtic | ||
Maryhill[2] | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1970–1987 | Celtic | 439 | (4) |
1987–1988 | Hamilton Academical | 21 | (0) |
Total | 460 | (4) | |
International career | |||
1973 |
Scottish League XI[4] | 1 | (0) |
1973 | Scotland U23 | 2 | (0) |
1973–1982 | Scotland | 62 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1992–1994 | Arbroath | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Daniel Fergus McGrain
McGrain began his career at Celtic and was one of the "
After retiring from playing, McGrain had a spell as manager of Arbroath in the early 1990s, and is now currently part of the coaching staff at Celtic.
Club career
Born in Glasgow and raised in the city's Drumchapel area,[6][7] McGrain played for Queen's Park Strollers and also featured for the Scotland Schools team, where he was scouted and signed for Celtic in May 1967, aged 17.[7] He became one of the so-called 'Quality Street Gang', the great Celtic reserve team that also included players such as Kenny Dalglish, Lou Macari, Paul Wilson , Davie Hay and George Connelly, who eventually took the places of the ageing Lisbon Lions. At first, McGrain was regarded as a midfielder but was utilised in a variety of roles in the reserve side before becoming established as a right-back.[8][7] He had a spell at Junior club Maryhill to gain experience playing with adults, and also made a fruitless attempt at a college course in engineering prior to becoming a full-time professional.[7]
Having been chosen to accompany the main squad to the
Having made only 10 league appearances, McGrain suffered the first serious set-back of his career on 25 March 1972. He sustained a fractured skull during a match at Brockville against Falkirk after a clash of heads with forward Doug Somner.[8] McGrain, however, made a full recovery and began the following season, 1972–73, as Celtic's first-choice right-back [11] in place of Jim Craig who had left the club at the end of the previous season.[12] McGrain now became a first-team regular and made 30 league appearances that season.[13] He also rose through the ranks at international level, making two appearances for the Scotland Under 23 side in the spring of 1973, before finally making his debut at full international level for Scotland in May 1973 against Wales at Wrexham.[11] McGrain picked up his first winner's medal at the end of the season when Celtic clinched their eighth successive league championship title.[14]
By the mid 1970s, McGrain was considered by many to be one of the best full-backs in the world.
In 1977, McGrain won his second league and cup double.
McGrain continued to be a mainstay of the Celtic side during the early to mid 1980s; captaining them to a further three league championships, two Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup,
In May 1987, McGrain was given a free transfer by Celtic.[1] He joined Hamilton Accies in the summer and helped them win promotion to the Premier Division before finally retiring from playing.[31]
International career
His international career began at Scotland Under 23 level on 13 February 1973, with a game against England at Kilmarnock.[32] McGrain played alongside Alan Rough and Asa Hartford in a 1–2 defeat.[33] He won a second cap at Under 23 level a month later away to Wales, winning 2–1.[34]
McGrain made his full international debut for Scotland on 12 May 1973, in a British Home Championship tie against Wales at Wrexham, winning 2–0.[11][35] He won a further two caps over the following week in Home Championship ties against Northern Ireland and England.[36] The game against England saw McGrain fielded in an unfamiliar role at left-back to accommodate another highly rated right-back, Sandy Jardine of Rangers.[37] McGrain would go on to play at left-back for many of his Scotland appearances in the 1970s in order to accommodate the Rangers player, still able to play to the abilities he displayed in his normal role.[16]
McGrain played in eight consecutive internationals for Scotland
McGrain continued to play regularly for Scotland, now being fielded in his more familiar position at right-back, but missed Scotland's ill-fated
On his recovery from injury in 1979, McGrain regained his place in the Scotland team.[40] He made 16 consecutive international appearances in the run up to the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Now captain of the side, McGrain was named in Jock Stein's 22 man squad travelling to Spain. He played in Scotland's opening game against New Zealand but was dropped for the next match against Brazil. McGrain came on as a substitute for Gordon Strachan in Scotland's third game, against the Soviet Union.[11] This transpired to be his final game for Scotland.[11][41]
McGrain is a member of the
Coaching career
After retiring from playing, McGrain had a brief spell coaching at Clydebank in 1989.[43]
In November 1992 McGrain was appointed manager of Scottish Second Division side Arbroath.[44][45] That season, McGrain led Arbroath to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, losing 0–3 at home to eventual winners Rangers.[46] The following season Arbroath played McGrain's former club Celtic in a Scottish League Cup tie and lost 1–9, a record defeat for the club.[46][47] McGrain resigned in January 1994 due to illness.[46][48] In his 14 months at Gayfield Park, McGrain became popular with their fans and was followed by a group of supporters known as 'Danny McGrain's Bearded Army'. These supporters attended games wearing tribute T-shirts and stick-on beards, affectionately mimicking McGrain's own trademark beard.[45]
In August 1997 McGrain joined the backroom staff at Celtic, working under
Personal life
McGrain is married to Laraine, and the couple have three daughters.[6] His younger brother Tommy was also a footballer who trained with Celtic as a teenager, but he did not break through to the first team and subsequently played for Dumbarton.[51][52]
McGrain supported
In the summer of 1974, McGrain was diagnosed as suffering from diabetes. He had just returned home from playing for Scotland in the World Cup in West Germany, where he had displayed an excessive thirst and lost 2 stones (12 kg) in weight. Despite his condition, McGrain was able to continue playing top-level football. In March 2002 McGrain was found by police in the south side of Glasgow, slumped unconscious in the driver's seat of his car. He had entered a hypoglycaemic state, where the brain is drained of sugar and causes the body to shut down to conserve what little there is left. The officers revived McGrain and fed him a sugary sweet. Had McGrain not been found in time he would have suffered brain damage and possibly died. However, he made a full recovery and commented "There was no harm done in the end."[54]
In the
In 2002, Celtic supporters voted for what they considered to be the greatest Celtic XI of all time. McGrain was voted into the team, which was; Simpson, McGrain, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill, Auld, Johnstone, P. McStay, Dalglish, Larsson and Lennox.[57] He was an inaugural inductee to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2004,[58]
McGrain is the vice patron of Football Aid, a Scottish charity fund-raising organisation.[59] He has been involved with them since their inception in 2000, and was appointed vice patron in 2004.[60]
In popular culture
In 1996, Glasgow rock band Big Wednesday celebrated McGrain in music in their single "Sliding in like McGrain".[61] McGrain appeared on television with the group as part of the promotional activities.[62]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | Scottish
Cup |
Scottish League Cup |
Europe | Other[a] | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Celtic | 1970–71 | Scottish Division One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
1971–72 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
1972–73 | 30 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 0 | ||
1973–74 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 54 | 1 | ||
1974–75 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 47 | 1 | ||
1975–76 | Scottish Premier Division |
35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 1 | |
1976–77 | 36 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 1 | ||
1977–78 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
1978–79 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 2 | ||
1979–80 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 54 | 0 | ||
1980–81 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 0 | ||
1981–82 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
1982–83 | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 2 | ||
1983–84 | 33 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 0 | ||
1984–85 | 30 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
1985–86 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||
1986–87 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
Total | 439 | 4 | 60 | 1 | 106 | 3 | 54 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 681 | 9 | ||
Hamilton Academical | 1987–88 | Scottish First Division | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
Career total | 460 | 4 | 60 | 1 | 107 | 3 | 54 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 703 | 9 |
- ^ Appearances in Glasgow Cup, Drybrough Cup, Anglo-Scottish Cup
International
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Scotland | 1973 | 8 | 0 |
1974 | 7 | 0 | |
1975 | 9 | 0 | |
1976 | 7 | 0 | |
1977 | 9 | 0 | |
1978 | 0 | 0 | |
1979 | 1 | 0 | |
1980 | 8 | 0 | |
1981 | 7 | 0 | |
1982 | 6 | 0 | |
Total | 62 | 0 |
Honours
Player
- Scottish League Championship (7): 1972–73, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1985–86
- Scottish Cup (5): 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1984–85
- 1982–83
Hamilton Academical
Manager
Arbroath
- Forfarshire Cup: 1993–94
Individual
- Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year: 1976–77[19]
- MBE: 1983 New Year Honours[56]
- Scottish Football Hall of Fame: inducted 2004[58]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
- ^ a b c d e "Danny McGrain". Neil Brown – Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ "Danny McGrain". National Football Teams. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ "Danny McGrain –Scotland Football League Record from 27 Mar 1973 to 27 Mar 1973 clubs – Celtic". Londonhearts.com. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ a b c "Danny McGrain". STV Sport. 1 April 2010. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Aidan Smith (9 February 2013). "Interview: Danny McGrain still going strong at 62". The Scotsman. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Mark Henderson (29 March 2012). "Becoming A Bhoy: Danny McGrain". Celtic F.C. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
- ^ a b "Celtic Player Danny McGrain, Games Played 1970–71". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ "Dundee United 2–2 Celtic, League Cup (26/08/1970)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-360-0.
- ^ "Celtic Player Jim Craig Details". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ a b c "Celtic Player Danny McGrain Details". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
- ^ "Your Most Exciting Player 1976-77". Shoot. May 1977.
- ^ ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
- ^ Keevins, Hugh (23 December 2011). "Celtic legend Danny McGrain: I beat diabetes and so will Scotland kid Scott Allan". Daily Record. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ Craig, Jim (7 May 2012). "If You Know The History: 7th May Scottish Cup Final 1977". Jimcraigcsc.wordpress.com. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ a b "Scotland – Player of the Year". Rsssf.com. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
- ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
- ^ Hunter, William (1 May 1978). "Celtic boys out of their class". The Glasgow Herald. p. 15. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ Reynolds, Jim (11 September 1978). "McGrain to face Burnley?". The Glasgow Herald. p. 20. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ Keevings, Hugh (16 November 1978). "Danny's great comeback". Evening Times. p. 39. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ Davidson, Alan (5 March 1979). "Happy Celts: Conn, McGrain on way back". Evening Times. p. 30. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ "Celtic Player Danny McGrain, Games Played". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
- ^ Paul, Ian (22 May 1979). "10-man Celtic win the league". The Glasgow Herald. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ Reynolds, Jim (7 October 1985). "McGrain still going strong after 600 matches for Celtic". The Glasgow Herald. p. 7. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ a b "Celtic Player Danny McGrain, Games Played". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Former Arbroath FC boss Danny McGrain backs Lichties for the title". Thecourier.co.uk. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ "Scotland U23 Player Danny McGrain, Games Played". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Scotland U23 1–2 England, Friendly (13/02/1973)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Wales 12 Scotland U23, Friendly (14/03/1973)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "Wales 0–2 Scotland, British Championship (12/05/1973)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Scotland Player Daniel Fergus McGrain, Games Played". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "England 1–0 Scotland, British Championship (19/05/1973)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ a b Jan Alsos. "1974 – Squads – Scotland". Planet World Cup. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ a b c "Football: Players are still gutted by our KO in 1974 World Cup finals. I'm not – it saved my life; DANNY McGRAIN REVEALS HOW HE BEAT DIABETES TO BECOME SCOTLAND LEGEND". Daily Record. 30 March 2005. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ Paul, Ian (18 December 1979). "Stein puts the young ones in driving seat". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "Scotland 2–2 Soviet Union, World Cup (22/06/1982)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "International Roll of Honour". Scottish Football Association. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ "McGrain drafted in to help out Bankies". The Herald. 19 August 1989. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "McGrain takes over at Arbroath". The Herald. 11 November 1992. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Former Arbroath FC boss Danny McGrain backs Lichties for the title". The Courier. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ a b c "potted history". Arbroath FC. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ Paul, Ian (26 August 1993). "Paradise at the seaside as Celtic hit the goal trail". The Herald. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Early inspections". The Herald. 18 January 1994. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Paul goes to school". The Herald. 11 August 1997. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Celtic have appointed Danny McGrain as new first-team coach". Sky Sports. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- Evening Times. 10 June 1978. Retrieved 21 July 2018 – via Partick Thistle History Archive.
- ^ "Tom McGrain – Player Profile". Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ Keevins, Hugh (20 April 2013). "Danny McGrain: If Neil Lennon wins 10-in-a-row I hope he gets the knighthood that Jock Stein should have got". Daily Record. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ "Danny McGrain is found slumped at wheel of his car; Scotland and Celtic hero missing for 3 hours after falling unconscious". Sunday Mail. 24 March 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ UK & Commonwealth list: "No. 49212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1982. p. 15.
- ^ a b "Danny Boy, MBE". Evening Times. 1 March 1983. p. 1. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Jinky best-ever Celtic player". BBC Sport. 9 September 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Hall of Fame Dinner 2004". Scottish Football Museum. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ "Danny McGrain (MBE)". Football Aid. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Celtic and Scotland Legend Danny McGrain takes up post of Football Aid's first Vice-Patron". Football Aid. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "The latest from the Scots music scene". The Mirror. 6 August 1997. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Bite Back; Euro jungle". Sunday Mail. 10 March 1996. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Meadowbank go through in extra time (Meadowbank 1 Hamilton 0)". The Glasgow Herald. 19 August 1987. p. 23.
- ^ "Roll of Honour – Danny McGrain". Scottish FA. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
- ^ "International Roll of Honour". Scottish FA. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ "Danny MCGrain". Scottish FA. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- Celtic: My Team, Danny McGrain, Bob Patience 1978, ISBN 0-285-62369-9
- In Sunshine And In Shadow, Danny McGrain and Hugh Keevins, 1987, ISBN 0-85976-191-6