Wim Jansen is a man who will remain a key figure within Celtic history for his role in winning the Premiership title back in the 1997/98 campaign.
The Dutch coach was Hoops manager for just a single season, but in his one campaign as boss, his squad managed to stop Glasgow rivals Rangers from lifting a 10th title in a row.
Just 48 hours after his success, though, Jansen departed from his role as manager, bowing out of the Celtic job, having done precisely what was asked of him and therefore becoming a club hero for his involvement.
As quoted by Sun Sport, in his new book ‘Meesterbrein’ (Mastermind), Jansen revealed the reasoning behind that famous exit for the first time.
He said: “The truth is, I hadn’t spoken to the board from January that season. Everything went through Murdo.
“You cannot sustain such a situation. If you enjoy your job and what you do, it’s very easy.
“But if you don’t, it takes up a lot more energy.
“I wanted to continue to build a team at Celtic, but they didn’t want to spend any money. If you want to keep improving and go higher up, you have to spend money.
“It got to a point that I didn’t want to wait for the next argument. I couldn’t go any further.
“For me, a big decision like that doesn’t depend on success or sympathy — it depends on vision.
“Do you move forward, or do you want to stay still? My gut told me to leave. And everything I do, I do by instinct.”
He also went on to speak about his relationship with ex Celtic midfielder and his assistant manager during his spell as boss, Murdo MacLeod, saying:
“When I agreed to manage Celtic, they didn’t tell me anything. Whatever team in the world you manage, if you sell your three top attackers, there is little left (Pierre Van Hooijdonk, Jorge Cadette and Paulo Di Canio).
“Working with Murdo was blissful for me because I was able to let him do a lot. I focused on the game, and he did the analysis of the opponents.
“Back then, you didn’t have the same information at your disposal, and I didn’t have the time to go to games.
“But because of the knowledge and work of Murdo, I knew exactly what to expect every week.”
During the week, the former manager turned 75 and sadly revealed he was suffering from dementia.
It can be such a horrible disease for families to go through, and we have seen a couple of Celtic legends suffering from the same in recent years.
After all these years, it is great to hear stories from Wim about his time as the Celtic manager. He will forever be remembered as a great at the club for his short but successful spell as manager.
