The stadium was crumbling. There were only crumbs left in the biscuit tin and Celtic board were doing their best to hide from the bank manager as well as the angry mob at the door.
The Hoops were too busy fighting with themselves to worry about battling to be best of the rest in Scottish football while Rangers were shooting off in to the distance.
Celtic think they have problems now?
Joe Miller savoured the sensational high of the Centenary Double in 1988 but then had to suffer the years when even second spot was beyond Celtic.
The former fans favourite chuckles when he hears Ian Murray talk about his old side being in the fight for fourth this year.
Try being part of it back then.
Celtic finished outside the top two in seven of the Rangers nine titles in a row. It wasn’t until Tommy Burns got the club going again they were even in the conversation.
But Miller doesn’t see a repeat this time out. Ange Postecoglou’s men might be languishing in sixth in the table, but the clocks have yet to go back and there’s much more to come, while Hearts and Hibs above are playing out of their skins to sit where they are right now.
It’s a different ball game to the struggles his side faced in those days.
Miller said: “It was a different world back then. In the last 25 years it’s been Celtic and Rangers just about every season but back then there really was a top six.
“The likes of Aberdeen, Hearts, maybe Dundee United and Hibs would all be thinking at the start of the season they could be in with a chance of winning the league.
“Aberdeen finished second a good few times at the start of the Rangers run and they nearly won the league at Ibrox one year. The gap between the big two and the rest is much bigger now.
“It’s like they say, if you’re not first in Scotland, you’re last. It was like if you didn’t win the league it was a disaster whether you finished second, third, fourth or whatever.
“We won the Centenary Double but the problem we had is we didn’t build from a position of strength.
“A few of the lads were getting older, a few left, and those were the days of the old biscuit tin stuff around the board.
“Rangers were spending big but we had problems behind the scenes. Celtic Park needed a lot of work, the board were under severe pressure, it was a difficult time.
“I know Celtic fans were not happy last season, but it’s nothing like the 90s.
“There is a rebuild needed but the club is in a strong position now. It just might take time.
“It’s not been the best of starts for Celtic but it was always going to be a bumpy ride in the first few months.
“The manager has come in and made a lot of changes. The new players need time.
“He’s also been hit by a lot of injuries to big players, and that's made it tough as the squad is still a bit light.
“But you could see the improvement when they were all fit. They’ll
Get players back, they will also bring in more in January.
“It’s far too early to talk about finishing behind Hearts and Hibs as this Celtic side will get better as it goes along.”
The Edinburgh duo have impressed but it’s not going to be a cruise for the Capital clubs.
Miller said: “We’ve seen it before with teams getting off to a good start. It’s a different story when you need to maintain it over the course of a season.
“The Edinburgh sides have started well but they’ve not hit their difficult spells yet. They’ve not had to cope with injuries and suspensions, or maybe a dip in form.
“This season might be too big a step for Celtic in terms of winning the title, but I’d still expect them to be ahead of the rest of the competition.”
Miller reckons Hoops fans might need to be patient but he believes punters will have to put their faith in Postecoglou.
He said: “I was surprised when they went for Ange but he’s a guy I know a bit about.
“I played against his South Melbourne side when I was with Parramatta Power in the old National Soccer League.
“But I crossed paths with him again when I went back to Australia a few years later. I was doing some coaching and he was heavily involved with the Socceroos youth set up.
“He was gaining a reputation as a coach back then and I wasn’t surprised to see him go on and be successful with clubs Like Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory before taking the national side.
“He is a huge name in Australia and I’m sure they are watching with interest how he gets on over here.
“Even back then he had big ideas and you can see he’s carried that all the way through his career.
“He certainly likes to play the Celtic Way. I remember big Billy McNeill used to have the attitude if they score two, we’ll score three, and it looks to be the same with Ange.
“The defence still causes a bit of concern but the attacking players have looked the part so far.
“It’s about consistency and putting a run of results together over a long period of time. We’ve seen Celtic turn it on when they are on form, but they need to be able to do it week in, week out to maintain the challenge.
“It’s been tough to overtake Rangers in his first year as they are a settled side but it will be interesting to see if they can put up a fight."
