# 1987–88 Celtic F.C. season

The 1987–88 Scottish Football League was Celtic's 94th season of competitive football, and it marked the club's centenary. Davie Hay was dismissed as manager during the close season following a disappointing 1986-87 campaign, in which the team, despite holding a 9-point lead at the turn of the year, lost the league title to a resurgent Rangers F.C. under Graeme Souness and failed to win any trophies.
The Celtic board opted to bring back Billy McNeill as manager, despite an acrimonious split in 1983. McNeill returned to the club after four years managing in England with Manchester City F.C. and Aston Villa F.C..
The playing squad underwent significant changes in the summer of 1987, with key players such as Brian McClair, Mo Johnston, Murdo MacLeod, and Alan McInally all departing. Danny McGrain was given a free transfer, and Davie Provan retired due to ill health. Centre-half Mick McCarthy was signed by Davie Hay just days before his departure. Billy McNeill then brought in new signings, including Motherwell striker Andy Walker, Sheffield Wednesday full-back Chris Morris, and Aberdeen midfielder Billy Stark.
As the season progressed, Celtic continued to search for attacking reinforcements following the loss of strikers Johnston and McClair. After early speculation about a return for fans' favorite Charlie Nicholas, the club eventually signed forwards Frank McAvennie and Joe Miller.
Celtic made a solid start to their league campaign, but in the autumn, they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Borussia Dortmund in the first round and eliminated from the Scottish League Cup at the quarter-final stage by Aberdeen. Despite these setbacks, their league form remained consistent, and they went into the New Year derby match with a three-point lead over second-placed Hearts and a five-point lead over Rangers. After defeating Rangers, Celtic went on an unbeaten run until a potential league-clinching match against Hearts at Tynecastle in April, where a defeat meant they had to wait until the following week to secure the title.
In front of a packed home crowd at Celtic Park, Celtic clinched the league title with a convincing victory over Dundee. The team also reached the Scottish Cup Final after a dramatic comeback against Hearts in the semi-final, scoring twice in the last four minutes to win 2–1. In the final, Celtic again came from behind to defeat Dundee United, with Frank McAvennie scoring the decisive goal in the last minute, sealing a league and cup double in the club's centenary year.

## Pre-season and friendlies

Celtic prepared for their 1987-88 centenary season with a Scandinavian tour, before playing a friendly match at home against ex-Celtic player Charlie Nicholas Arsenal team and then Tommy Burns testimonial match against Liverpool. In November Celtic organised a testimonial for retired former player David Provan, who retired from the game through illness at the age of just 31.

## Competitions
### Scottish Premier Division
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Celtic (C) | 44 | 31 | 10 | 3 | 79 | 23 | +56 | 72 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Heart of Midlothian | 44 | 23 | 16 | 5 | 74 | 32 | +42 | 62 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Rangers | 44 | 26 | 8 | 10 | 85 | 34 | +51 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 44 | 21 | 17 | 6 | 56 | 25 | +31 | 59 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Dundee United | 44 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 54 | 47 | +7 | 47 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |

#### Matches
### Competition overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premier Division | 8 August 1987 | 7 May 1988 | Round 1 | Winners | 44 | 31 | 10 | 3 | 79 | 23 | +56 | 070.45 |
| Scottish Cup | 30 January 1988 | 14 May 1988 | Third round | Winners | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 083.33 |
| League Cup | 19 August 1987 | 1 September 1987 | Second Round | Quarter Finals | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 066.67 |
| UEFA Cup | 15 September 1987 | 30 September 1987 | First Round | First Round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 55 | 39 | 11 | 5 | 98 | 32 | +66 | 070.91 |
Source: Competitions

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | League | League | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Pat Bonner | 32 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| GK | Allen McKnight | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| DF | Roy Aitken | 43 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 1 |
| DF | Lex Baillie | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| DF | Stuart Balmer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Mick McCarthy | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| DF | Paul McGugan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | Chris Morris | 44 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 3 |
| DF | Anton Rogan | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 1 |
| DF | Derek Whyte | 41 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 4 |
| MF | Tommy Burns | 25 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 5 |
| MF | Peter Grant | 37 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 2 |
| MF | Paul McStay | 44 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 5 |
| MF | Steven Murray | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Tony Shepherd | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| MF | Billy Stark | 37 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 13 |
| MF | Owen Archdeacon | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
| FW | Frank McAvennie | 32 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 18 |
| FW | Dugald McCarrison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Mark McGhee | 21 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 8 |
| FW | Dougie McGuire | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Joe Miller | 26 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 3 |
| FW | Andy Walker | 42 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 32 |

### Goalscorers

| R | Pos. | Nation | Name | Premier Division | Scottish Cup | League Cup | UEFA CUP | Total |
| 1 | FW | | Andy Walker | 26 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 32 |
| 2 | FW | | Frank McAvennie | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 3 | FW | | Billy Stark | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| 4 | FW | | Mark McGhee | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | MF | | Paul McStay | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | MF | | Tommy Burns | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | DF | | Derek Whyte | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | FW | | Joe Miller | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | DF | | Chris Morris | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | | Peter Grant | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | DF | | Roy Aitken | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | MF | | Owen Archdeacon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | MF | | Tony Shepherd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | DF | | Anton Rogan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 77 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 97 |

## Club
### Officials

| Position | Name |
| Chairman | Jack McGinn |
| Vice-chairman | Kevin Kelly |
| Secretary | Chris White |
| Directors | James Farrell Tom Grant Chris White |

### Management

| Position | Name |
| Manager | Billy McNeill |
| Assistant manager | Tommy Craig |
| Reserve Team Manager | Bobby Lennox |
| Youth Development Officer | Benny Rooney |
| Chief Scout | John Kelman |
| Physio | Brian Scott |
| Masseur | Jimmy Steele |
| Kitman | Neil Mochan |

### Kit

Supplier: Umbro / Sponsor: CR Smith
The club introduced a new home shirt to commemorate the clubs centenary year, with a newly commissioned badge to celebrate the milestone, the yellow and green away shirt was the same as the previous season but with the new centenary badge replacing the usual shamrock badge for this season.

#### Away
## Transfers
### In

| Pos | Player | From | Type | Date | Fee |
| DF | Mick McCarthy | Manchester City | Transfer | May 1987 | £500,000 |
| MF | Billy Stark | Aberdeen | Transfer | July 1987 | £75,000 |
| DF | Chris Morris | Sheffield Wednesday | Transfer | July 1987 | £125,000 |
| FW | Andy Walker | Motherwell | Transfer | July 1987 | £350,000 |
| MF | Steven Murray | Nottingham Forest | Transfer | September 1987 | £50,000 |
| MF | Charlie Christie | Inverness Caledonian | Transfer | September 1987 | £20,000 |
| FW | Frank McAvennie | West Ham United | Transfer | October 1987 | £750,000 |
| FW | Joe Miller | Aberdeen | Transfer | November 1987 | £650,000 |
| | | | TOTAL | TOTAL | £2,575,000 |

### Out

| Pos | Player | From | Type | Date | Fee |
| DF | Danny McGrain | Hamilton Academical | Transfer | May 1987 | Free Transfer |
| MF | Murdo MacLeod | Borussia Dortmund | Transfer | June 1987 | £250,000 |
| GK | Peter Latchford | Clyde | Transfer | June 1987 | Free Transfer |
| FW | Mo Johnston | FC Nantes | Transfer | July 1987 | £330,000 |
| FW | Alan McInally | Aston Villa | Transfer | July 1987 | £250,000 |
| FW | Brian McClair | Manchester United | Transfer | July 1987 | £850,000 |
| FW | David Provan | Retired | Transfer | July 1987 | Released |
| FW | Mark Smith | Dunfermline Athletic | Transfer | October 1987 | £50,000 |
| DF | Paul McGugan | Barnsley | Transfer | October 1987 | £55,000 |
| | | | TOTAL | TOTAL | £1,785,000 |