1978–79 Celtic F.C. season

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The 1978–79 Celtic F.C. season began with a significant change. Former club captain Billy McNeill took over from Jock Stein.^[1] Stein stepped down after 13 incredibly successful years, during which he led the club to numerous triumphs. His final season, however, was disappointing, with Celtic finishing fifth in the league, missing out on European football qualification, and failing to secure any silverware in the domestic cups.

Billy McNeill returned to Celtic after a promising spell managing Aberdeen F.C., where he finished as runners-up in both the Premier Division and the Scottish Cup.^[2] During the summer, McNeill appointed his former defensive partner and assistant at Aberdeen, John Clark, as his assistant at Celtic.^[2] and brought in Frank Connor to manage the Reserve team, Jimmy Lumsden also joined as a player with additional coaching responsibilities for the reserve team. In the transfer market McNeill made two significant signings in the autumn: winger David Provan from Kilmarnock F.C.^[3] and midfielder Murdo MacLeod from Dumbarton F.C.. Both were young and talented players who would go on to play key roles at Celtic for many years. Additionally, former Celtic players Bobby Lennox and Vic Davidson returned to the club later in the season.

Celtic made a bright start in the league during August and early September. However, their form became inconsistent from October through December, and they dropped several points. Harsh winter weather caused all league games in January and February to be postponed. When the league resumed in March, Celtic's form improved significantly, helped by the return of Captain Danny McGrain, who had been out with a serious long term injury. The club faced a busy schedule in May, playing six games, with the final match against Rangers F.C. becoming the decisive fixture for the league title. A victory in this match would ensure the league flag returned to Celtic Park in McNeill's first season as manager. In a dramatic encounter, Celtic triumphed 4-2, despite being down to 10 men for most of the game—a match that remains fondly remembered by Celtic supporters.^[4]

In the League Cup, Celtic progressed to the semi-finals but were narrowly defeated by Rangers 3-2 after extra time.

In the Scottish Cup, a fifth-round replay loss to Aberdeen allowed Celtic to focus solely on their pursuit of the Premier Division title.

Billy McNeill's first season was regarded as a success, restoring the club to the top of Scottish football and allowing the club to make a return to compete in Europe's premier competition the following season.^[1]

Due to the 1978 FIFA World Cup, Celtic only managed 2 pre-season friendlies plus the Jock Stein Testimonial game against Liverpool two days after the League opener against Morton.

Montrose v Celtic

29 July 1978 Friendly	Montrose	1-3	Celtic	Montrose, Scotland
	Livingstone 20'	Report	Aitken 23', McCluskey 56', 74'	Stadium: Links Park Attendance: 2,300 Referee: R.B Valentine (Dundee)

Celtic v Arsenal

8 August 1978 Friendly	Celtic	0-3	Arsenal	Glasgow,Scotland
		Report	Lynch 29', MacDonald 76', Stapleton 83'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 24,000 Referee: K. Hope (Glasgow)

Celtic v Liverpool

14 August 1978 Jock Stein Testimonial	Celtic	2–3	Liverpool	Glasgow, Scotland
19:30 GMT	Glavin 21', McAdam 44'	Report	Kennedy 32' Dalglish 40', 55'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 62,000 Referee: Brian McGinlay (Balfron)

Celtic v Clyde

3 August 1978 1st round 1st leg	Celtic	2–1	Clyde	Glasgow
20:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 10,000

Clyde v Celtic

5 August 1978 1st round 2nd leg	Clyde	1–6 (2–8 agg.)	Celtic	Glasgow
20:00 GMT				Stadium: Shawfield Stadium Attendance: 12,000

Burnley v Celtic

12 September 1978 Quarter-final 1st leg	Burnley	1–0	Celtic	Burnley
20:00 GMT				Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 25,000

Celtic v Burnley

27 September 1978 Quarter-final 2nd leg	Celtic	1–2 (1–3 agg.)	Burnley	Glasgow
20:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 27,000

Pos.		Name	League		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Peter Latchford	26	0	4	0	6	0	37	0
GK		Roy Baines	7	0	0	0	3	0	10	0
GK		Packie Bonner	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
DF		Joe Filippi	19(1)	0	1	0	8	0	28(1)	0
DF		Danny McGrain	18	2	4	0	1	0	23	2
DF		Alan Sneddon	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
DF		Andy Lynch	27(1)	7	4	2	7	3	38(1)	12
DF		Roddie MacDonald	18	2	4	0	9	1	31	3
DF		Mike Conroy	20(1)	4	0	0	5	1	25(1)	5
DF		Jóhannes Eðvaldsson	34	1	4	0	9	1	47	2
MF		Jim Casey	1(4)	0	0	0	1(3)	0	2(7)	0
MF		Murdo MacLeod	23	3	4	0	0	0	27	3
MF		Peter Mackie	0(2)	0	0	0	0	0	0(2)	0
MF		Roy Aitken	36	5	3	0	9	1	48	6
MF		Tommy Burns	28(1)	3	3	1	8	0	39(1)	4
MF		Paul Wilson	0(1)	0	0	0	1(1)	0	1(2)	0
FW		Ronnie Glavin	9(1)	3	0	0	4(2)	2	13(3)	5
FW		Tom McAdam	24(4)	7	0(1)	0	9	6	33(5)	13
FW		Johnny Doyle	23(3)	2	4	1	6(1)	3	33(4)	6
FW		David Provan	30	4	4	0	5	0	39	4
FW		George McCluskey	16(5)	5	2	3	1(3)	0	19(8)	8
FW		Joe Craig	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0
FW		Alfie Conn Jr.	12(1)	6	2	0	5	1	19(1)	7
FW		Bobby Lennox	6(8)	4	1(1)	1	1(1)	1	8(10)	6

R	Pos.	Nation	Name	Premier Division	Scottish Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW		Tom McAdam	7	0	6	13
2	DF		Andy Lynch	7	2	3	12
3	FW		George McCluskey	5	3	0	8
4	FW		Alfie Conn Jr.	6	0	1	7
5	MF		Roy Aitken	5	0	1	6
	FW		Bobby Lennox	4	1	1	6
	FW		Johnny Doyle	2	1	3	6
6	FW		Ronnie Glavin	3	0	2	5
	DF		Mike Conroy	4	0	1	5
7	MF		David Provan	4	0	0	4
	MF		Tommy Burns	3	1	0	4
8	MF		Murdo MacLeod	3	0	0	3
	DF		Roddie MacDonald	2	0	1	3
9	DF		Danny McGrain	2	0	0	2
	DF		Jóhannes Eðvaldsson	1	0	1	2
Total				60	8	21	89

Celtic continued to wear their Umbro home shirt that was released the previous season which incorporated the club badge on a home shirt for the first time. Celtic only wore their home shirt during the entire season.