PIERRE VAN HOOIJDONK and Fergus McCann were never destined to become bosom busies despite being the exact same person.

Opinionated, self-centered, not scared to speak their mind, brilliant and what they did and not so brilliant at seeing the world from anyone else’s view aside from their own. Two arrogant peas in a pod.

They fell out. Of course. Van Hooijdonk wanted a big pay rise, McCann was not in the business to cave in to an employee – and that’s all the players were to him – and the Dutchman was on his way to Nottingham Forest in 1997 when Celtic were trying to halt Rangers wining a ninth league title in a row.

That’s 20 years ago now and time is a great healer. It also helps clear the mind and on a recent visit back to Glasgow, big Pierre was gushing in his praise of wee Fergus who quite rightly is known as the father of the modern-day Celtic.

McCann still has his critics. His stubbornness did cost Celtic at times; however, when he put his money into the club in their darkest hour it changed history. No McCann, no new Celtic Park, no stopping ten in a row, no Martin O’Neill, no Seville and no Invincible treble-winning season.

“I give Fergus great credit for saving the club,” said Van Hooijdonk. “I’ll give you an example. I like to discuss things with journalists who go to the games rather than journalists who deal with political issues. In the same way you have directors who care about football and you have people who think business. Fergus was business.

“Of course the Celtic of today owes a lot to Fergus – there’s no doubt about that. I can still praise him for saving the club even if I didn’t have a relationship with him.

“I think he was so far ahead of everyone. Fergus was a pioneer.”

That is absolutely correct. What is also true is that he could be incredibly difficult bordering on impossible to deal with. Although as a newspaper man who exclusively covered Celtic back then, McCann was also hilarious, sometimes unintentionally so, fascinating and almost as quotable as Dorothy Parker.

But nobody crossed him, be it Van Hooijdonk, Paolo di Canio or Jorge Cadete, who went by the name of the three amigos.

“There were four amigos – everybody forgets Andy Thom,” said the Dutch element of the troublesome quartet. “We didn’t have a relationship with Fergus – nobody did.

“I remember Paolo coming in from AC Milan and we were playing a friendly against Arsenal at Parkhead. On the way into the ground Paolo saw Fergus – the same guy he had negotiated with over his contract – and he waved over to say hello

“Fergus just didn’t react! That’s how it was. I didn’t need to have a good relationship with the chairman, but I had to have one with the manager because he was my boss. The chairman decides the salary but on a day to day basis the manager was important for me and I had a great bond with Tommy Burns.”

That Celtic team was terrific to watch. They arguably played better football than even Rodgers’s all-conquering side.

The Burns philosophy was to attack, attack and then do some more attacking. It was his bad luck that he came up against a formidable Rangers side who were just a bit more street smart.

“The team that I came into in 1995 – that wasn’t the same as the team nine months later,” said Van Hooijdonk. “These guys made me far better than the ones I first played with. We were on a same wavelength and that makes football so much more enjoyable.

“I didn’t have to shout and demand the ball – the players knew when to wait and when to play. That understanding gave me loads of energy.”

Van Hooijdonk is a great admirer of the current Celtic team – how could he not be – and believes the key to their continued success is the manager whose profile and reputation will count for a lot when it comes to recruiting players who ordinarily would not give Scottish football as much as a glance.

Asked whether Rodgers could attract an £8million player to Celtic, the former striker replied: “Without a doubt. He has a very good reputation in England and elsewhere after his time at Swansea and Liverpool. Brendan is known for his attacking style of play and the combination of such a big club and a well-respected manager will be attractive to players.

“Players want to work with a manager who will excite them. Look at what happened with Jose Mourinho over the years. He has a different style of play, of course, but players wanted to go to Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United because he was there.

“If I was still playing I would be attracted towards working with Brendan.”

Van Hooijdonk, who like McCann, was an remains good interviewee. He’s a footballer from the Netherlands and therefore has an opinion on everything, including how his old club have fared in the transfer market in recent times.

“Celtic have been all about good recruitment and not only in the last year but in the last 12 years or so,” he said. “You currently have two former goalkeepers – Artur Boruc and Fraser Forster – playing every week in the Premier League. Craig Gordon could have been a third who moved there for big money.”

And then there is Moussa Dembele.

“If someone wants to spend £40million, then that’s what you are worth,” said the one-time Celtic goalscorer. “Look at Paul Pogba. Okay, for £100million I’d want a player who is decisive and wins matches.”That’s what Dembele is.” McCann would get that deal done. no problem.