The 1985–86 Scottish football season was to be Davie Hay's 3rd season in charge after winning his first trophy, the Scottish Cup the previous season, Celtic were looking to compete for the Scottish Premier Division league title that Aberdeen had won the two previous seasons under Manager Alex Ferguson.

Season Overview The club would begin the season with a new chairman, Thomas Devlin who had been a director since 1949 took over the job from Desmond White who died suddenly while on holiday in Greece during the summer. Desmond White an important figure in the clubs history, had been chairman since 1971, when he took over from Sir Robert Kelly, he had been a director since 1947 when he succeeded his father Thomas White on the board of directors.

Celtic were linked with several players during the summer, especially strikers to replace cup winning hero Frank McGarvey who was surprisingly sold to St Mirren just after scoring the winning goal in the 1985 Scottish Cup Final. Full backs Graeme Sinclair and Mark Reid had already departed in May. The club was linked with various players during the pre-season, speculation included players such as Pat Nevin and Frank Gray. It would take until November for Celtic to make a signing when they brought in ex Aberdeen hero Mark McGhee from German Bundesliga team Hamburg.

August The domestic season began with a draw away to Hearts at Tynecastle, followed by consecutive league victories. Celtic's League Cup campaign opened with two comfortable wins against lower-league opposition, defeating Queen of the South and Brechin City. August concluded with a strong performance at Celtic Park against Rangers, with the Old Firm encounter ending in a draw after a closely contested match.

September September began with disappointment in the League Cup. Celtic were eliminated following a dramatic 4–4 draw after extra time away to Hibernian, before losing the subsequent penalty shoot-out. The team responded positively in league competition, recording three wins from three matches to maintain momentum in the early stages of the season. Celtic's European campaign in the European Cup Winners’ Cup also began during the month, with a challenging first-round draw against Atlético Madrid. Celtic achieved a creditable 1–1 draw in the first leg away in Madrid. September 1985 was also marked by tragedy with the death of former Celtic and Scotland manager Jock Stein. Stein collapsed and died while attending Scotland's World Cup qualifying match, in which the national team secured the point required to reach the play-offs for the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.

October Celtic's European campaign came to an end in October following a poor second-leg performance against Atlético Madrid, played behind closed doors. The sanction had been imposed by UEFA as a result of crowd disturbances during the previous season's fixture against Rapid Wien in the UEFA Cup. Domestically, Celtic began the month at the top of the league table but experienced inconsistent form. Victories over St Mirren and Clydebank were offset by home defeats to Hearts and Dundee United These results caused Celtic to relinquish first place, and they finished the month second in the table behind Aberdeen on goal difference.

November Inconsistent league form continued into November, with the team opening the month with consecutive defeats. A heavy loss away to league leaders Aberdeen at Pittodrie. was followed by a home defeat to a dominant Rangers side. These results saw Celtic fall to third place in the table, three points behind Aberdeen and one point adrift of Rangers. A home victory over Clydebank, with both goals scored by new signing Mark McGhee, helped stabilize results However, a subsequent draw away to Hibernian delayed any sustained return to form.

December December began with a hard-fought draw against an improving Hearts side, a result that saw them drop to fourth place in the league. Aberdeen remained top of the table, with Hearts in second and Rangers narrowly ahead of Celtic on goal difference. A scheduled fixture against Motherwell was postponed due to heavy rain. Celtic returned to league action on Monday, 23 December, suffering a 1–0 defeat away to Dundee United. The result further weakened their position in the title race, leaving the club in fifth place and four points behind leaders Hearts, although Celtic had played three matches fewer. Celtic ended the calendar year with a victory over Clydebank, moving back into fourth position and setting the stage for a crucial New Year's Day encounter with Rangers at Celtic Park.

January Celtic began the New Year with a 2–0 victory over rivals Rangers, a result that revitalized their league campaign and left Rangers trailing in the championship race. Despite the win, Celtic still faced a challenge to close the gap on Aberdeen, Hearts, and Dundee United, who occupied the positions above them in the table. In their next fixture, Celtic were defeated 4–2 by a strong Dundee United side; however, this proved to be their final league loss of the season. Two subsequent draws against Aberdeen and Hibernian slowed momentum, but a home victory over Motherwell helped preserve their title ambitions. The home victory against Motherwell would prove to be Davie Provan's last game before having to retire due to illness., Celtic's Scottish Cup campaign also commenced in January, beginning with a 2–0 win over St Johnstone.

February February began with a comeback win away to Dundee which kept Celtic in the title race, 4 points off leaders Hearts but with 2 games in hand. On Monday 3 February Celtic moved to sack assistant manager Frank Connor, this news was quite a shock especially to the players. A slim win The next two league matches saw a dip in league form which would see Celtic draw against St. Mirren and Hearts both games at home.

March Scottish Cup participation ended at the beginning of March with a last gasp defeat 4-3 defeat against Hibernian at Easter Road, this was followed by two draws, dropping points to Dundee United away in a 1-1 draw, then a dramatic 4-4 draw at Ibrox against old rivals Rangers saw Celtic stutter again in the title race, now in 4th place 7 points behind leaders Hearts, the league title was looking increasingly out of reach if recent form continued. Finally after a run of four league games without a win, Celtic won the final game of the month away to Clydebank with a convincing second half performance to deliver a 0-5 away win and 2 crucial points.

April Now out of all the Cup competitions, Celtic had only the league title left to challenge for. April would see Celtic face a marathon six league fixtures, all crucial in the race for the League Championship. Celtic began the month sitting in 4th place on 36 points, 9 points behind leaders Hearts, who had 45 points, Dundee Utd sat 2nd on 40 points and 3rd placed Aberdeen on 38 points. Celtic did have 3 games in hand over the league leaders but it would be a challenge to close the gap. A win at home midweek to Dundee was followed by a last gasp away win to St. Mirren, thanks to improvised striker Paul McStay's 87th minute goal, helped Celtic continue a winning run and close the gap with league leaders Hearts to 5 points. The following Saturday Celtic claimed a win with a stylish victory over Champions Aberdeen at Pittodrie, a Mo Johnston goal was enough to claim full points, but Hearts won convincingly 3-0 away to fellow title contenders Dundee United, keeping the gap at 5 points and still looking like favorites to clinch the title with only four games left. A win against Hibs at home, thanks to two late goals, kept Celtic with some faint hope of catching leaders Hearts, this was followed by another win at home against Dundee. Celtic were now 4 points behind with two league fixtures left, Hearts had played one more game and would not play until the last day of the season away to Dundee at the start of May. Celtic won their game in hand a midweek victory away to Motherwell, setting up a last day of the season tie away to St. Mirren, hoping that Hearts would lose and that Celtic would win by 4 goals. This would be enough to clinch Davie Hay's first League title as Manager and Celtic's first since the 1982/83 season.

May Saturday 3 May 1986 is considered one of the most dramatic finishes to a Championship race, Celtic went 4-0 up by half time, but Hearts will still 0-0 at Dens Park against Dundee, this would mean the title was still going to Tynecastle for the first time in 26 years. Another goal by Brian McClair in the 54th minute gained a cheer from the massive travelling Celtic support but it was nothing compared to the noise and joy that would break out amongst the Celtic fans when they got news that Dundee had scored in the 83rd minute thanks to Albert Kidd, and once Kidd made it 2-0 to Dundee in the 86th minute Celtic fans began to celebrate a dramatic title win.

Pre-season and friendlies Celtic prepared for the 1985–86 season with a summer tour Sweden during late July and early August, playing 4 games during a weeks trip.

Competitions

Scottish Premier Division

League table

Matches

Scottish Cup

Scottish League Cup

European Cup Winners' Cup

Glasgow Cup

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.NameLeagueScottish CupLeague CupEuropean Cup Winners CupOtherTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGK30000302000350GK603000000090DF36031524100444DF12010100000140DF27020202000330DF19210002000220DF14010100000160DF100000000010DF11000000000110MF34530312000426MF26121302000332MF34820212000569MF29320302000503MF001000000010DFTom McAdam501020000080MF19030000000220FW3322233120004026FW3115313621003923FW13431000000165FW510012000063

Goalscorers Pos.NationNamePremier DivisionScottish CupLeague CupEuropean Cup Winners CupTotal1FWBrian McClair22310262FWMo Johnston15161233MFPaul McStay801094MFTommy Burns501065FWMark McGhee410056MFRoy Aitken01214FWDavie Provan202047FWOwen Archdeacon30003FWAlan McInally10203MFMurdo MacLeod300038MFPeter Grant11002DFPaul McGugan20002Total67715291

Club Staff +Board of DirectorsPositionNameChairmanThomas L. DevlinVice-chairmanJohn C. McGinnSecretaryChristopher D. WhiteDirectorsJames M. Farrell Thomas J. Grant

Kevin Kelly

Christopher D. White +Football StaffPositionNameManagerDavid HayAssistant managerFrank Connor (until 2 February 1986)CoachBobby LennoxPhysioBrian ScottMasseurJimmy SteeleKitmanNeil MochanChief ScoutJohn Kelman

Transfers

In PlayerFromDateFW Mark McGhee Hamburger SVTransferNovember 1985£150,000TOTAL£150,000

Out PlayerFromDateFW John Colquhoun Heart of MidlothianTransferMay 1985£60,000DF Graeme Sinclair St MirrenTransferMay 1985Free TransferFW Willie McStay St MirrenTransferJune 1985£80,000DF Tom McAdam MotherwellTransferFebruary 1986Free TransferTOTAL£140,000

References