PIERRE VAN HOOJIDONK

Catching up with a footballer after 11pm on a Saturday night isn't the best of times but Pierre van Hooijdonk was good enough to talk to me for a few minutes.

PIERRE VAN HOOJIDONK VIDEO INTERVIEW

Pierre's Celtic career was certainly memorable enough playing during an era when the club came back to life again with the return to the rebuilt Celtic Park whilst ending the six years trophy drought with the 1995 Scottish Cup Final win over Airdrie.

The lows are equally as well documented with a promising team featuring 'The Three Amigos' failing to fulfill it's promise with Pierre, Jorge Cadete, Paolo di Canio and manager Tommy Burns all departing in quick succession before the championship was regained in 1998.

Unlike most of today's players Pierre never shirked a question off the park which caused him some grief at Celtic as well as Nottingham Forest whom he left Celtic for.

The measure of his talent however can be gauged by the fact that he won 46 caps scoring 14 times during a golden period for Dutch football.

Over a decade on from leaving Celtic Pierre is a regular visitor to the club and speaks especially warmly about his friendship with Tommy Burns.

When Pierre joined Celtic the club was training at Barrafield and playing in front of 23,000 supporters most weeks at Hampden.

The transformation in the club can often be overlooked as we chase further glory both in Europe and in terms of domestic dominance with a generation of supporters now accustomed to crowds around 60,000 at home matches regardless of the opposition and expecting Champions League campaigns.

That is the sort of achievements Celtic should be hitting regularly with the seeds for that success planted by the eye-catching team of the mid-nineties that dragged Celtic out of depression with Pierre a massive part of the clubs rebirth.

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Coming soon video interview with Tom Boyd and Stewart Kerr