McStay Wants Perspective From Fans

Former Celtic skipper Paul McStay has told the club's angry supporters they cannot compare the Hoops' recent woes with the agonies his side went through. The retired midfielder was the on-field leader during the club's darkest days back in the early 1990s. The Parkhead outfit were just hours from going bust over £5million debts before Fergus McCann launched his last-ditch rescue plan. But McStay admits he is surprised to see so many supporters reacting with fury at the club's recent dip. Chief executive Peter Lawwell admitted last week he had been forced to sell off a list of top performers such as Gary Hooper, Victor Wanyama and Fraser Foster to make up for the shortfall in revenue sparked by the demise of Rangers. And the impact those sales have had on new boss Ronny Deila's side has been stark as they lost out on a place in the Champions League not once but twice. First they were hammered 6-1 by Legia Warsaw but took the Poles' spot in the play-off round after they fielded an ineligible player, only to then crash out to Slovenians Maribor after a 1-0 defeat at Celtic Park. But McStay, who will pull on the Hoops once more in Sunday's charity clash between a McStay's Maestrio XI and a side picked by former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, said: "What is happening now is nothing like what happened back when I was a player. "I have read things in the media and spoke to one or two friends about how the fans are feeling right now. I can understand they are disappointed and disillusioned a wee bit. "But you cannot compare where the club is right now to where it was in '94. We were nearly out of business. "Maybe it is younger fans who are thinking, 'Oh this is terrible, we are not buying players'. "But I was captain of the club back then and everyone who lived through it - the fans, the players - know that it was a horrendous time. "I just think this period is just a wee blip, a wee adjustment to be made with the new manager coming in. Things will move on but you cannot compare Celtic Football Club now to where it was in the early 1990s. "I'm not going to tell fans how to feel. They are allowed to feel disappointed if the team isn't playing well. "But I just went out there and had a look at the whole stadium and to me things have changed completely. "Yeah be disappointed, they want to be playing in the Champions League. But that comes from the fact the club has been involved in the group stages most years, even getting to the last 16 on three occasions. The fans have grown accustomed to that success. "Okay, this isn't where we want to be this year but it is a chance to regroup." McStay made his Parkhead debut aged just 17 and went on to win three league titles with the Hoops. And the 49-year-old - who now lives in Australia with his wife and six children - reckons under-fire Deila should hand the same chance to impress to today's youth-team recruits. "I only hope things progress and that Ronny is given time by the fans to put his own mark on the squad," he said. "This year he and John Collins will be looking to give a lot of the young kids some game time, maybe even during the European campaign. Being in the Europa League rather than the Champions League might give him a chance to blood a few younger ones. "That European experience this year will only help them next year when they are challenging again for that Champions League place."