Celtic on this Day – ‘There’s only one Pierre,’ Dutchman heads winner amid controversy

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The Celtic Star

·12 October 2024

Celtic on this Day – ‘There’s only one Pierre,’ Dutchman heads winner amid controversy

Overshadowed by a fallout between Pierre Van Hooijdonk and Fergus McCann, Tommy Burns’ side defeated an injury-ravaged Motherwell team 1-0 at Celtic Park On This Day in 1996…

2/10/96. Scottish Premier League, Celtic v Motherwell, Celtic Park –Pierre Van Hooijdonk celebrates his goal. Photo Courtesy of Celtic Wiki

Early exits defined the beginnings of the 1996/1997 campaign for Celtic as they looked to end Rangers league dominance in the 90s.

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September was a cruel month

September was a cruel month. Knocked out of the UEFA Cup 2nd round by German side Hamburg (4-0 on aggregate) was humiliating. Domestically, it was not much better. The Hoops were beaten by Hearts at Tynecastle 1-0 in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final. A disastrous 10 days culminated when we lost the first Old Firm at Ibrox 2-0.

When the Motherwell fixture at Parkhead finally came around it had been two weeks since the Celts had last featured in a competitive match.

Possibly for the best on the pitch that there was a sustained break, off the pitch matters were fraught inside the club.

Van Hooijdonk’s tit for tat row with Fergus and Tommy Burns

Dutch striker Pierre Van Hooijdonk had been at the forefront of an ongoing tit for tat with Fergus and Tommy. Due to issues with contract negotiations, the 6ft4 forward had been dropped for the Rangers game at Ibrox in late September and was forced to train by himself.

Consequently, the row rumbled on when Van Hooijdonk was doing interviews with media in his homeland criticising both the manager and the club hierarchy. Having claimed he was injured, during the October international break he made his senior debut for the Netherlands scoring a brace against Wales and on return to Glasgow was forced to train with the reserves.

Fergus raging at Pierre and his agent

Not only was Fergus raging at Pierre, but he had a bone to pick with agent Raymond Sparkes. Sparkes, who represented Simon Donnelly, Phil O’Donnell, Peter Grant and Gordon Marshall, had made comments in the press that McCann thought was disrespectful towards the club. As a result, The Bunnet demanded the players change agent.

July 1996: Van Hooijdonk of Celtic football club taken during the team photocall: Photo Allsport

Leading up to the encounter with the Steelmen, the Hoops, like their opponents, had an injury crisis. Paul McStay and Phil O’Donnell were still absent due to long-term injuries. It was the same case for Andreas Thom and Jorge Cadete who were suffering from hamstring issues. Coupled with this, Tosh McKinlay was suspended heading into the game following his red card at Ibrox giving Tommy Burns a selection headache.

Speculation was also brewing in the opposition dugout. It was believed that Alex McLeish was set to leave Motherwell and join Hibs. However, former Celtic player Jim Duffy was appointed as manager at the Hibees where he would only last a year in the job.

Blistery, horrible conditions dominated proceedings

Blistery, horrible conditions dominated proceedings at Celtic Park On This Day 28 years ago. Celtic went down to 10 men after goalkeeper Gordon Marshall manhandled Lee McCulloch to the ground leaving Bobby Orr with no option but to send him off. Subsequently, Stewart Kerr made his first team debut as a result.

After all the recent controversy, it was Pierre Van Hooijdonk’s bullet header in stoppage time that sent the Celtic supporters into overdrive. Rangers had lost on the same day which meant the Hoops cut the gap to two points at the top of the table.

Peter’s Grant’s post-match comments

Speaking post-match, captain Peter Grant praised the Dutchman’s finishing capabilities, “the only other person who could have pulled that one off is Ally McCoist. Pierre proved today that he wants to play for Celtic.”

Tommy Burns’ side on 12 October 1996 was a familiar 4-4-2 set up; Marshall, Boyd, Stubbs, O’Neil, McNamara, Wieghorst, Donnelly, McLaughlin, Di Canio, Van Hooijdonk.

Conor Spence