Celtic to Wear Black Armbands in Tribute to John McNamee Against Ross County

The Celtic squad will wear black armbands in today’s match against Ross County to pay tribute to former player John McNamee, who has passed away at the age of 83.

Born in Coatbridge, Scotland, on 11th June 1941, ‘Big John’ joined Celtic in 1960 and made his debut the following year, helping secure a 2-0 victory over Hibernian.

During his four years at the club, he featured in 44 matches and scored four goals.

The Coatbridge-born defender is known for featuring in the Scottish Cup final against Rangers at Hampden Park in 1963.

In April 1964, McNamee was signed by Jock Stein for Hibernian, having previously worked with him when Stein was reserve coach at Celtic.

Less than a year later, Stein left Hibernian to become Celtic’s manager.

McNamee joined Newcastle United in 1966, going on to make 117 appearances over five years with the Magpies.

He also played for Blackburn, Hartlepool, Lancaster City, and Workington, where he both played and later took on a managerial role.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has spoken pre-match against Ross County about his decision to make six changes from the side that started against Club Brugge midweek.

With the match finishing 1-1, the first half was below the standard anticipated before the game, which has led to a number of players being benched.

Those who featured off the bench against the Belgian champions made a real impact in the second half.

Rodgers said: (BBC Sportsound), “It’s just giving a freshness to the team. I trust the squad for today. We want big energy in the game; we don’t want to be waiting for the game to come to us.

“We’ve got to go and create it, and for that, we’ll have players who can go out and hopefully influence the game and bring a positive energy.”

Put simply, Rodgers has made the majority of changes that fans would have anticipated, highlighting his experience in understanding the game and knowing when to rotate his side.