Kenny Dalglish reveals Rangers snub that opened door for Jock Stein and Celtic | OneFootball

Kenny Dalglish has revealed how Rangers passed up the opportunity to sign him as a teenager before Jock Stein swooped to bring the future Celtic legend to Parkhead.

Dalglish grew up supporting Rangers and was watched by the Ibrox club while playing twice in the same day at around 15 years old.

Despite scoring three goals for Glasgow Schools that morning, a Rangers representative remained unconvinced after watching him turn out for Possilpark YMCA later that afternoon.

Dalglish said: “They never asked. We played in the morning for Glasgow Schools. We won 8-3 or something, and then in the afternoon I was playing for the Possilpark YMCA, who were quite notorious for producing players.

“We played there in the afternoon, and the Rangers guy happened to be at the game. He said to my father, ‘Oh, he played this morning. He’s got three goals but we’re not sure.’ I was probably 15.”

No Rangers offer followed, leaving Celtic with an opportunity to take a closer look at the youngster when his side faced the Hoops’ apprentices.

With Stein and assistant Sean Fallon watching, Dalglish scored as his team secured a 3-2 victory – and the legendary Celtic manager had seen enough.

Dalglish said: “So then we played at the training ground at Celtic, and we played their apprentices and we beat them 3-2.

“So big Jock Stein is at the game, and the assistant Sean Fallon, and Big Jock said to the guy afterwards, he says, ‘I like that wee fat boy in the middle of the pitch there.’

“I scored one that day, and we won 3-2, and they said, ‘Well, we’ll have him.’ And they came up to the house during the week, and that was that, I signed for Celtic.”

Dalglish officially joined Celtic on May 4, 1967, just weeks before Stein’s Lisbon Lions became the first British club to win the European Cup.

The forward would go on to establish himself as one of the greatest players in Celtic history, scoring 167 goals in 320 appearances and winning nine major honours before moving to Liverpool in 1977.

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