The news last month of Dr Jo Venglos passing was met by great sadness by the Celtic support. A manager, who in the late 90s, was treated with contempt and derision by the mainstream media in this country.

Dr Jo was an absolute gentleman and a man who was a cut above anyone reporting on him. The General manager at the time, Jock Brown, who met and hired Jo Venglos as Celtic manager has paid tribute to the former Celtic manager.

Brown cannot praise the man high enough for his knowledge and experience he gained throughout his career.

Writing in a column for CFB, Jock Brown praises Venglos and describes how his Celtic appointment came to be.

“Jozef drove from his home in Bratislava to meet me in Vienna. We talked for several hours and it became clear that I was in the presence of someone truly great. He was vastly knowledgeable, insightful and compassionate – and wonderfully gracious. While he had an amazing grasp of the Celtic playing squad he grilled me about the club, especially with regard to its vision and ethics.” Brown Stated.

“I returned to Glasgow and recommended to Fergus McCann that we had found our man.”

Jock made mention of the media’s treatment of Jo Venglos when he came in. The former Celtic custodian claiming Venglos got the flak because Brown wouldn’t leak to the media about who they were about to appoint.

There was a narrow mindedness about the coverage and Jock makes note of it.

“He duly arrived and received the “welcome” from the Scottish media of those times which I had fortunately alerted him to expect.  He was subjected to cruel observations about his age and his allegedly broken English.  The fact that he was presented to the media by Fergus and me, both of whom who had been relentlessly battered over many months – and, in Fergus’s case, years – didn’t help.  Nor did the fact that there had been no leak about his identity in advance.

“He was courteous and patient – and totally untroubled. On one occasion I suggested to the media that if they were concerned about his command of English (which was actually excellent), they could talk to him in one of the other seven languages he spoke fluently.”

The late Celtic manager was credited for bringing in Lub Moravcik who was also derided by the same press. The only reason we got Lubo at the time was because of Dr Jo’s presence at the club. Brown confirmed this, revealing Lubo’s words as he signed for Celtic.

The first time I met another great man, Lubomir Moravcik, I asked him if he would like to play for Celtic. He replied; “I would like to play for Jozef Venglos. Since he is coaching Celtic I would like to play for Celtic.”

Venglos was one of the good guys in football and while he could land Celtic success, he holds a special place in many Celtic fans hearts. It was deeply saddening to hear of his passing and for those who watched his team during his short time at the club will remember that 5-1 victory against our rivals.

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