CELTIC LEGENDS COUNTDOWN 1-5

5 BOBBY MURDOCH

The Celtic Years: 1959/60-1973/74

Appearances: 484

Career highlight: Driving the ball goalward for Stevie Chalmers to poke home and seal Celtic's win in the 1967 European Cup final.

Show us your medals: Eight League titles, five Scottish Cups, five League Cups, one European Cup.

So what makes you a legend? Let Jock Stein and Helenio Herrera – the manager of the Inter Milan side defeated in the 67 final – answer that.

"As far as I'm concerned, Bobby Murdoch was just about the best player I had as manager," was Stein's summation of the big, bustling, bull-like Bobby.

Herrera went one better when he revealed: "Bobby Murdoch is my complete footballer."

Murdoch began playing for Celtic's first team as a 17-year-old. But it wasn't until three years later, when Stein took over as manager, that he was dropped back to midfield and his career really began to soar.

Murdoch was a player's player, the kind of man anyone would want in the trenches alongside them.

His vision and ability, not only to spot a pass, but deliver it, was his hallmark, and his goal-scoring ability – 102 in the Hoops – a huge bonus.

Murdoch did it all while engaged in a constant battle to keep his weight down, not helped by an ankle injury which stayed with him from 1964 until his premature death, aged 56, following a stroke, in 2001.

4 KENNY DALGLISH

The Celtic Years: 1966/67–1977-78

Appearances: 322

Career highlight: Scoring the winning goal for Liverpool against Bruges in the 1978 European Cup final.

Show us your medals: Four League titles, Four Scottish Cups, one League Cup.

So what makes you a legend? King Kenny signed in the month Celtic became European champions, a portent to how successful a career with the Hoops, Liverpool and Scotland he was about to have.

He was the crown jewel among the gems who made up the Quality Street Gang, and remained at Parkhead longer than any of this supremely talented group.

Dalglish could be a surly and truculent character off the field. But, once he crossed that white line, he lit up games with a blend of skill, strength and striking which brought him 167 goals.

He would use his generous posterior to hold off an opponent, before spinning on a sixpence then unleashing a shot of venom and accuracy.

The eventual move to Liverpool as a replacement for Kevin Keegan marked the beginning of an even-more successful period in his career, while becoming Scotland's most-capped player in the process.

The least said about his return as director of football, with John Barnes as boss, the better.

England in a 3-1 defeat at Wembley.

3 BILLY McNEILL

The Celtic years: 1957/58-1974/75

Appearances: 790

Career highlight: Standing on a balcony, high above the Estadio Nacional in Lisbon, holding aloft the European Cup

Show us your medals: Nine League titles, seven Scottish Cups, six League Cups, one European Cup.

So what makes you a legend? Cesar captained Celtic throughout the most successful period in the club's long and illustrious 125 years of existence, setting a record for appearances in the Hoops in the process, including two European finals.

He was the quintessential Celt, his passion for the club as a family and the values it holds at its core as strong today as it was when he first walked in the door as a raw teenager.

Yet, McNeill was heading out of Parkhead, most likely to Spurs, before Jock Stein arrived.

The new boss quickly appointed him his on-field lieutenant, and between them they set about conquering Europe – and almost the world.

McNeill was not the most talented of the Lisbon Lions, but he was their leader, whose example in terms of total commitment more than compensated for some rough edges.

No one has won more medals with the club than Cesar. He returned to Parkhead for two stints as manager – the first time accepting the daunting task of following Stein – and delivered the Double in their Centernary year.

2 JIMMY McGRORY

The Celtic years: 1921/22-1936/37

Appearances: 445

Career highlight: Scoring eight goals in the 9-1 win over Dunfermline in 1928, helping him finish the season with 63.

Show us your medals: Two League titles, five Scottish Cups.

So what makes you a legend? A goal tally of 468 in the league and Scottish Cup (including 55 hat-tricks), better than one a game, and a consistency which made him top club scorer for 12 seasons in a row.

It is a strike rate which still sees McGrory positioned at No.8 in the list of all-time top division goal scorers around the globe.

Only his unwillingness to leave the club and move to Arsenal prevented McGrory becoming the highest-paid player in Britain.

He was only 5ft 6ins, but used his low centre of gravity and immense strength to fend off opponents before unleashing a rocket shot or leaping like a salmon to head home.

McGrory returned to manage the club for 20 years just after the Second World War, but, despite one title and five cups – including the 1957 League Cup final thrashing of Rangers – he was never as comfortable as he had been when leading the line.

1 JIMMY JOHNSTONE

The Celtic years: 1961/62-1974/75

Appearances: 515

Career highlight: His starring performance in Alfredo Di Stefano's testimonial, the week after winning the European Cup.

Show us your medals: Nine League titles, four Scottish Cups, five League Cups, one European Cup.

So what makes you a legend? Jinky was, quite simply, the best player ever to wear the Hoops.

The trophies he helped bring to the club – including Nine-in-a-Row, countless Doubles, Trebles and the biggest prize in the European game – provide proof positive that his magic was not just smoke and mirrors. It had real substance, with 130 goals and hundreds more assists. He deserves his position at No.1 in the list of legends. But, if here today, he would argue, adding that none of it would have been possible without the guiding influence of Jock Stein.

The Big Man used every mind game and threat to keep Johnstone in line, and the little magician repaid him with performances which destroyed opponents – no matter how much they kicked him – and lit up Europe.

He even had a Faberge egg created in his honour. But, even when his health was failing as Motor Neurone Disease ravaged his tiny body, he retained a humility and self-deprecation which embedded him even deeper in the hearts of everyone who had the privilege to cross his path.

Your shout

Now it's your turn to let us know what you think about our Celtic legends. Get in touch with us via email at sport@eveningtimes.co.uk, or drop us a letter at 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, G2 3QB, and we'll give you the chance to have your say on the Famous Fifty.

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