Strachan's test

By John May

Strachan proud despite Euro exit

Celtic boss Gordon Strachan will be leafing through his Aesop's Fables to remind himself about the tale of the hare and the tortoise.

While others have made worse and better starts than Strachan at Parkhead, none of his predecessors have arguably made a more expensive one than the former Coventry and Southampton boss.

The early exit from the Champions League could cost Celtic £10m.

Add that to the near £7m he has spent in the transfer market and Strachan has already made a big dent in Celtic's bank account.

Just three games into Strachan's reign and the mumblings of discontent are growing louder. The disastrous 5-0 Champions League defeat to Artmedia Bratislava was followed by a 4-4 draw with Motherwell.

The 4-0 second leg win over the Slovakian side restored some pride but as the snipers take aim, Strachan may be able to point to the experiences of others in mitigation.

FALSE STARTS

Liam Brady (June 91-October 93)

Brady's reign as Bhoys' boss got off to a flier with a five-game winning streak. But that was as good as it got for the former Highbury darling.

Brady was responsible for some iffy signings, and a 5-1 defeat to Swiss minnows Xamax Neuchatel was Celtic's worst European defeat before the Artmedia Bratislava drubbing.

Brady's two-season reign is a nondescript blur to most Celtic fans.

John Barnes (June 99-Feb 2000)

His opening game was a 5-0 thumping of Aberdeen and Celtic won eight of their first nine league games, scoring 27 goals and keeping nine clean sheets.

Celtic were top of the table, through the first two rounds of the Uefa Cup and playing with a swagger and flourish when fate took a hand.

Talismanic striker Henrik Larsson broke his leg against Lyon and within 17 days, Barnes lost his first Old Firm game, and it all skidded downhill after that.

The end for Barnes came with the humbling at the hands of then Division Three outfit Inverness Caldedonian Thistle in the Scottish FA Cup, a result dubbed the worst in Celtic history.

Lou Macari (October 93-June 94)

Took over from Brady part-way through the 1993-94 season and five days after taking office Celtic beat Rangers.

Celtic were riven by political in-fighting when Macari took over and he was kept short of money, as the signings of Wayne Biggins, Carl Muggleton and Lee Martin testify.

Tommy Burns (July 94- May 97)

Beat Rangers 2-1 in his second league game as part of an eight-match unbeaten start to the season.

His three-season reign coincided with Rangers in their pomp as they won nine successive titles.

SLOW STARTERS

Dr Josef Venglos (June 99-Feb 2000)

His first game in charge was an embarrassing goalless draw at Parkhead against League of Ireland side St Patrick's in the European Cup.

His second league game ended in defeat at Aberdeen and preceded a humiliating League Cup exit by Airdrie.

But he turned things round and although the Doc only lost once against Rangers in the league it was the 1998-99 title decider.

Venglos, left a legacy of shrewd signings such as Johan Mjallby, Mark Viduka and Celtic legend Lubo Moravcik.

Wim Jansen (July 97-May 98)

The Dutchman lost his opening two league games to Hibs and Dunfermline.

But he shook off his early hiccups to guide Celtic to the League Cup and the Championship which denied Rangers a history-making 10-in-a-row.

He also signed Larsson for £650,000.

Billy McNeill (First spell, May 87-Oct 93)

His first five league games in charge yielded just one win, but he went on to win the title in his initial season in charge, and went on to add another in during his first four-season spell in charge.