Former Celtic striker, Harald Brattbakk will always be regarded as a legend of the club. His goal in the 2-0 win over St Johnstone back in 1998 sealed the title and spelt the end of Rangers’ quest for ten-in-a-row.
The Norwegian arrived at Celtic with a huge reputation. Scoring goals for fun for Rosenberg domestically and creating a name for himself in the Champions League, Brattbakk’s move to Glasgow was met with much excitement amongst the Celtic fans.
However, he failed to live up to his reputation and struggled to find his goalscoring form during his short time in Glasgow. And in a recent interview, Brattbakk explains the reasons why he felt he didn’t hit the heights for Celtic that he did with Rosenberg.
When asked if he thought the move to Celtic was too big for him, Brattbakk said [The Sun], “I don’t think so. The fact we changed managers so often in my two years didn’t help.
“But I didn’t adjust quickly enough to what each wanted. I was at my best in my first six months under Wim Jansen. Then there was Jo Venglos, John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish. It’s not easy.
“I wish that I had performed better.”
The Norwegian then revealed he has forged a friendship with one of his former gaffers. The John Barnes era is one that the Celtic supporters would rather forget but for Brattbakk, he had a very different view on Barnes’ era.
Brattbakk was asked if he felt that John Barnes was out of his depth at Celtic but the former Hoops striker refuted that.
He continued, “He was inexperienced. But he also wasn’t there for long. Personally, you wouldn’t find someone more humble and nicer than Barnes.
“I’m glad I had him as a manager. I consider him a good friend.”
Despite the reasons why he never made his time at Celtic a success, Brattbakk will always be regarded as a legend for that famous goal against St Johnstone.
The former Norway international helped to safeguard one of Celtic’s most precious records being overtaken by our Glasgow rivals and, for that, he will always live long in the memory of every Celtic supporter.
In other news, BBC pundit reckons Derek McInnes won’t be happy with Celtic challenge
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