Celtic coach Martin Miller has named the top five players that he has worked with in his 22 years with the club.
That period scans a massive period of change, in the late nineties Willie McStay did most of the work with a part-time assistant such as Danny Crainie or Gerry McCabe.
Today’s Academy has Tommy McIntyre and Stephen McManus at the top of the coaching tree with an army of coaches, goalkeeping specialist, fitness experts and nutritionists available at every level and the club linked in with St Ninan’s Secondary at Kirkintilloch.
Celtic’s Treble success has had an invaluable contribution from the club’s own academy which has nurtured through some real natural talents while pushing on others with an unbreakable drive to succeed.
Speaking to The Sun Miller said:
“The first team I took was remarkable, with the likes of Aiden McGeady and Charlie Mulgrew, nine of that team went senior. They were an outstanding team, probably the best I ever worked with at Celtic.
“I’ve always said it’s not the coach who makes the player, it’s the player who does and that’s got to come from within. For example, Kieran Tierney had that intrinsic motivation to go and do something about it.
“James Forrest had that focus to sacrifice in order to keep progressing. Callum McGregor with his wonderful attitude. They are brilliant boys for us to use as role models for the academy.
“If you look at KT in the junior academy, he was special, but then he maybe went a bit quiet going through and then just blossomed. You have the likes of McGregor, the talent that whispers, as he just got gradually better as he came through.
“But McGeady was incredible. We used to play at Dalziel Park and every second Sunday there were six guys who walked from Cleland to Dalziel Park just to watch McGeady, so he had his own supporters’ group. The speed of his footwork was astonishing and that’s what made him stand out.”
Mikey Johnston is perhaps surprisingly missing from that list. The forward from Stepps has been at the club since his primary days and has always stood out through the age groups.