Yesterday, at full time, Mark McGhee had a bit of a mini-meltdown. Watching it, I thought that it was the simple, and understandable, reaction to seeing our team beat his late in the game when they’d been ahead 2-0 and then 3-2.
Listening to him afterwards, I still thought it was because we had beaten his team.
Listening to Brendan made it clear that it was more. Our manager was furious, and he abandoned tact and diplomacy to shoot with both barrels, and you know what? Our manager is a marksman. He proved to be a dead-shot. He blew McGhee away.
And my heart is glad for it, and not because I dislike Mark McGhee, because as an individual he’s a pretty decent guy although I would once (and would still) have dug a moat around Celtic Park at the merest hint he might be appointed manager of our club.
What pleased me was seeing how passionate Brendan is about our club, about protecting it, about fighting the corner of his players and his staff. There is real unity at Celtic Park, and in hearing Brendan yesterday it comes home to me that we’ve got a real leader here. That wasn’t really in doubt, of course; the man has the respect of everyone in the building, and he had it from the moment he walked through the doors.
But leadership shows its public face in different ways, and this is a good one to see. His reaction wasn’t furious, it was controlled anger. Directed. That’s why it hit so close to the mark. Blind fury rarely does, unless you get lucky.
His critique of McGhee’s behaviour was pointed and sharp, and it cut like a knife. It was directed at McGhee and his own people, but I thought it was such an extreme reaction – though a deserved one – that it reached beyond the press conference and to the watching world. This was a warning; “nobody screws with Celtic.”
Not only is our club dominant on the field, but Brendan is sending a clear-cut message about how he’ll allow us to be perceived. This guy isn’t going to tolerate anyone talking us down, or talking our achievements down. He will stand up for us and for our reputation.
He will not let the media play games or allow anyone else to.
We’ve had managers like this before; Big Jock was like that and so was Martin, who, lest we forget, chose a Champions League press conference to accuse Neil Lennon’s critics of being racist and sectarian. These guys were real personalities. They dominated our club completely. They didn’t tolerate outside interference. Martin actually sued the press more than once, when they deviated from Absolute Truth. We’ve long lamented the media’s penchant for spinning stuff, but I think the days of Absolute Truth are on their way back.
The media wants to take notice here. If they lie, if they exaggerate, if they spin, bend his words, if they do anything that’s not kosher he’s going to run over them like a train. The days when our club would tolerate nonsense are over.
We have a leader here, a real one, a guy who will take the barbs and the bullets for his team, but only if they are deserved.
Nobody gets a free shot any longer.
Yesterday’s words were music to my ears.