Celtic have had many distinguished long-serving players over the years and supporters will fondly remember Charlie Mulgrew’s contribution between 2010 and 2016.
Originally a Celtic Academy product, the former Scotland international moved on to Wolverhampton Wanderers without making a senior appearance at first-team level for the Bhoys.
Nevertheless, Neil Lennon picked up Charlie Mulgrew in the summer of 2010 after his contract at Aberdeen expired, which led to the 38-year-old playing a leading role in success during the Irishman and Ronny Deila’s tenures in charge.
Renowned for his versatility, the stalwart went on to register 29 goals and 34 assists in 209 appearances for Celtic, helping to claim eight trophies, including five Scottish Premiership titles.
Now, Mulgrew has opened up on the circumstances behind his exit in 2016 despite holding active talks to stay on into Brendan Rodgers’ first spell north of the border.
Charlie Mulgrew reveals reasons behind Celtic exit
From muscle memory, there was an element of uncertainty about Mulgrew’s Celtic exit after his contract expired.
Clarifying how the situation unfolded, the Hoops hero revealed that negotiations between both parties ended after Kolo Toure arrived in Glasgow. However, he also shed some insight into why Rodgers was ‘brilliant’ with him despite the departure.
He told Under The Cosh: “My contract ended, and then Brendan Rodgers came in that same season. I was negotiating a contract; I say negotiating it, but they never offered me one until the first day of pre-season.
“We were back and forth negotiating it. I had one eye on potentially going down south; I was 30 and still maybe wanted to go down south.
I had six years of that intense lifestyle of being at Celtic, and I thought, ‘I’ll not get another chance to go down south, ‘ so I had one eye on that even though we started negotiating.
“At that point with Celtic, you need to move fast because Champions League qualifiers are coming, so Kolo Toure came in, and then the budget was taken up, so the negotiation ended, and I then moved on.
“I went to train for a couple of weeks under Brendan Rodgers; he was brilliant, he let me train and keep fit, and then I went to Blackburn.”
Charlie Mulgrew’s venture into coaching and his ambitions
With his playing days behind him, Mulgrew is now Hamilton Academical’s Under-18 head coach and hopes to inspire the next generation of young talent to establish themselves in the senior game.
He stated earlier this year: “For me, as a leader, I just want to see you playing football the way you did in the school playground.
“I’ve got a strong passion for the coaching and management side that I want to pass experience, that knowledge and emotional intelligence on to players, and let them understand that I know what they are going through, and let them play with freedom within a structure and how I see the game.”
Having previously been linked with the Under-18 position at Celtic, Mulgrew has a wealth of experience working under top managers to lean on during his coaching career. Hopefully, he can be a regular face in the Scottish game over the coming years.
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