More than football
Celtic, Glasgow and a changing era
Between Two Countries isn't a football book. At its heart, it's a coming-of-age story about identity, family and belonging. But Celtic plays a significant part in Hughie's world.
Growing up in the Gorbals, the club is woven into family life, friendships and the community around him. Hughie's story follows Celtic from the latter days of Jimmy McGrory's time as manager, through the arrival of Jock Stein and the transformation that follows.
Celtic is there as Hughie himself grows and changes. He experiences the disappointments, the hope and the growing belief around the club, while the world around him is changing too.
The journey ultimately reaches Lisbon in May 1967, when Jock Stein's Celtic side achieve their famous European Cup triumph, becoming the first British club to lift the trophy and writing themselves into football history.
For Hughie, Celtic is never simply about what happens on the pitch. The club is part of the family, community and Glasgow world in which he is discovering who he is and where he belongs.
