The 1978–79 Celtic F.C. season began with a significant change. Former club captain Billy McNeill took over from Jock Stein. Stein stepped down after 13 incredibly successful years, during which he led the club to numerous triumphs. His final season, however, was disappointing, with Celtic finishing fifth in the league, missing out on European football qualification, and failing to secure any silverware in the domestic cups.
Billy McNeill returned to Celtic after a promising spell managing Aberdeen F.C., where he finished as runners-up in both the Premier Division and the Scottish Cup. During the summer, McNeill appointed his former defensive partner and assistant at Aberdeen, John Clark, as his assistant at Celtic. and brought in Frank Connor to manage the Reserve team, Jimmy Lumsden also joined as a player with additional coaching responsibilities for the reserve team. In the transfer market McNeill made two significant signings in the autumn: winger David Provan from Kilmarnock F.C. and midfielder Murdo MacLeod from Dumbarton F.C.. Both were young and talented players who would go on to play key roles at Celtic for many years. Additionally, former Celtic players Bobby Lennox and Vic Davidson returned to the club later in the season.
Celtic made a bright start in the league during August and early September. However, their form became inconsistent from October through December, and they dropped several points. Harsh winter weather caused all league games in January and February to be postponed. When the league resumed in March, Celtic's form improved significantly, helped by the return of Captain Danny McGrain, who had been out with a serious long term injury. The club faced a busy schedule in May, playing six games, with the final match against Rangers F.C. becoming the decisive fixture for the league title. A victory in this match would ensure the league flag returned to Celtic Park in McNeill's first season as manager. In a dramatic encounter, Celtic triumphed 4-2, despite being down to 10 men for most of the game—a match that remains fondly remembered by Celtic supporters.
In the League Cup, Celtic progressed to the semi-finals but were narrowly defeated by Rangers 3-2 after extra time.
In the Scottish Cup, a fifth-round replay loss to Aberdeen allowed Celtic to focus solely on their pursuit of the Premier Division title.
Billy McNeill's first season was regarded as a success, restoring the club to the top of Scottish football and allowing the club to make a return to compete in Europe's premier competition the following season.
Pre-season and friendlies
Due to the 1978 FIFA World Cup, Celtic only managed 2 pre-season friendlies plus the Jock Stein Testimonial game against Liverpool two days after the League opener against Morton.
Competitions
Scottish Premier Division
League table
Matches
Scottish Cup
Scottish League Cup
Anglo-Scottish Cup
Glasgow Cup
Statistics
Appearances and goals Pos.NameLeagueScottish CupLeague CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGKPeter Latchford2604060370GKRoy Baines700030100GKPackie Bonner20000020DFJoe Filippi19(1)0108028(1)0DFDanny McGrain1824010232DFAlan Sneddon40001050DFAndy Lynch27(1)7427338(1)12DFRoddie MacDonald1824091313DFMike Conroy20(1)4005125(1)5DFJóhannes Eðvaldsson3414091472MFJim Casey1(4)0001(3)02(7)0MFMurdo MacLeod2334000273MFPeter Mackie0(2)000000(2)0MFRoy Aitken3653091486MFTommy Burns28(1)3318039(1)4MFPaul Wilson0(1)0001(1)01(2)0FWRonnie Glavin9(1)3004(2)213(3)5FWTom McAdam24(4)70(1)09633(5)13FWJohnny Doyle23(3)2416(1)333(4)6FWDavid Provan3044050394FWGeorge McCluskey16(5)5231(3)019(8)8FWJoe Craig0(1)000000(1)0FWAlfie Conn Jr.12(1)6205119(1)7FWBobby Lennox6(8)41(1)11(1)18(10)6
Goalscorers Pos.NationNamePremier DivisionScottish CupLeague CupTotal1FWTom McAdam706132DFAndy Lynch723123FWGeorge McCluskey53084FWAlfie Conn Jr.60175MFRoy Aitken5016FWBobby Lennox4116FWJohnny Doyle21366FWRonnie Glavin3025DFMike Conroy40157MFDavid Provan4004MFTommy Burns31048MFMurdo MacLeod3003DFRoddie MacDonald20139DFDanny McGrain2002DFJóhannes Eðvaldsson1012Total6082189
Club
Officials PositionNameChairmanDesmond WhiteSecretaryDesmond WhiteDirectorsThomas Devlin James Farrell
Kevin Kelly
Management PositionNameManagerBilly McNeillAssistant managerJohn ClarkReserve Team ManagerFrank ConnorReserve CoachJimmy LumsdenTrainerNeil MochanPhysioBob RooneyMasseurJimmy SteeleChief ScoutJohn Kelman
Kit Celtic continued to wear their Umbro home shirt that was released the previous season which incorporated the club badge on a home shirt for the first time. Celtic only wore their home shirt during the entire season.
Home
Transfers
In DateNameFromTransfer FeeJuly 1978 Jim Lumsden Clydebank£10,000September 1978 Davie Provan Kilmarnock£120,000 October 1978 Bobby Lennox Houston HurricaneFreeNovember 1978 Murdo MacLeod Dumbarton£100,000March 1979 Vic Davidson Blackpool£35,000Total Transfer Fees£265,000
Out DateNameToTransfer FeeAugust 1978 Pat StantonRetiredReleasedSeptember 1978 Paul Wilson Motherwell£50,000September 1978 Joe Craig Blackburn Rovers£40,000March 1979 Roy Baines Greenock Morton£12,000April 1979 Alfie Conn Jr. Derby CountyFree TransferApril 1979 John Dowie Doncaster RoversFree TransferTotal Transfer Fees£102,000
References