John McGlynn believes the boisterous band of travelling Raith Rovers supporters made a ‘big statement’ against Celtic.
Rovers have endured a tumultuous fortnight entirely of their own making following the disastrous signing of David Goodwillie and subsequent U-turn.
Amid an uproarious backlash, McGlynn gave an emotional, candid press conference last week. He apologised for the debacle and asked for the chance to ‘make it right’.
And the Raith fans who made the trip to Glasgow serenaded the experienced coach with several renditions of ‘Super John McGlynn’ throughout the 4-0 Scottish Cup defeat on Sunday.
Of course, the most ardent critics of McGlynn would not have been in attendance, nevertheless it was a vocal sign of backing from those supporters who have accepted the show of contrition.
“It was amazing, wasn’t it? Amazing,” said a blown-away McGlynn. “The Raith fans were magnificent.
“The players appreciate that so much. Myself, the staff and everyone else at the club appreciates it.
“The fans who went through to Glasgow, sang from well before kick-off, through the warm-up and all the way through the game.
“They supported us enormously and I think that’s a big statement from them.”
Absent Brigade
The section of Parkhead which normally hosts the Green Brigade was a ghost town on Sunday due to an ongoing safety investigation.
A probe was launched following a pyrotechnics display during the Hoops’ recent win over Rangers.
McGlynn, formerly a scout at Celtic, added: “On a day the Green Brigade weren’t in their usual place, it was very flat. It wasn’t really noisy at all.
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“Celtic like to play in an atmosphere and the atmosphere was flat.
“I think that probably did help us because I think Celtic need that [noise]; it provides an energy.”
Asked whether a gutsy showing in Glasgow can help the club to refocus following the Goodwillie saga, McGlynn said: “I’m hoping so.
“We continued to stay focused on the game because it was such a big game. It was good from that point of view. We knew we had to be focused.
“I think we can come out of this stronger.”
