Hibs legend and former Celtic player Pat Stanton will be given a guard of honour when the two sides meet on Saturday (The Scotsman).
It’s to honour the Hibees legend’s 75th birthday, which was earlier this month on September 13.
Hibs and Celtic will pay tribute to Stanton. (Photo by Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The tribute follows a successful event held in the Edinburgh Usher Hall, titled ‘An Evening with Pat Stanton‘. Plenty of famous guests like Sir Alex Ferguson and Alex McLeish gathered to celebrate his football career.
Hibs v Celtic match is a fitting place for a tribute
Stanton made just short of 400 appearances for the Leith club. He went on to become one of their greatest captains, leading them to the 1972 League Cup.
He switched to Celtic in 1976 and won a Premiership and League Cup double in his first spell. The Edinburgh native was forced to retire the following season after picking up a bad injury.
Stanton was forced to retire. (Photo by Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
After Alex Ferguson made him his assistant at Aberdeen, Stanton went on to have managerial spells at Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline and then Hibs.
Hibs and Celtic played a testimonial game for the 75-year-old in 1978, so it’s quite fitting that the two teams are paying tribute to the man 41 years later.
The game itself is big for Hibs. Failure to win could see them go bottom of the league, should St Johnstone beat Motherwell on Saturday.
A big game for Heckingbottom. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Stanton’s tribute will no doubt get the home support up for a vital Premiership clash.