johnreid 
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Peter Grant was a Celtic first-team regular of the 1980s and 1990s, who was a favourite of various managers at the club, as he was an industrious midfielder who like to do the hard grafting.
Grant was a Celtic player for a long time, from 1984 to 1997, and he played in a few good Celtic sides. He was unfortunate to be involved in Celtic teams which weren’t the best in the early 1990s, but Grant had one last Celtic hurrah in 1995.
Long before that, Grant was a mainstay of the Hoops side which won the centenary double in season 1987/88.
He performed very well in midfield alongside the likes of Paul McStay and Roy Aitken. Sadly for Grant, he suffered an injury before the Scottish Cup Final against Dundee United, but as a committed Celtic fan, he was in amongst the celebrations at the end of the game with gusto.
The fact that Grant was a big Celtic fan meant that he knew a bit more than some other players about how important winning games for the Hoops was and is.
Perhaps that was a reason that Grant was valued so much by so many mangers at Celtic Park, which is sometimes an advantage for a club like Celtic where every game has to be one and it is a crisis if the club goes a few games without a win.
As has already been said, Grant was part of a Celtic squad which weren’t as good as the Hoops side of the 1980s.
The early 1990s were very poor for Celtic, as the team went six years ago without winning a trophy, which seems unthinkable now.
That all ended in 1995, when Grant and Celtic won the Scottish Cup after defeating Airdrie 1-0. Grant turned in a man of the match performance in the final, which was all the more surprising when you consider that he looked to have suffered a serious injury in the Hoops’ last league game against Dundee United.
However, Grant managed to get fit, and he was a rock in the Celtic defence, as the Hoops completed an emotional cup final win.
There were scenes of great celebration at the end of the game as Grant was praised by manager Tommy Burns as the Hoops finally ended six years without a trophy.
YouTube: 1995-05-27 Airdrie v Celtic Scot Cup Final Peter Grant
Sadly, that was the last trophy Grant won as a Celtic player, as although the Hoops came close to winning the title under Tommy Burns, it just eluded the team’s grasp.
Grant left Celtic to join Norwich City at the start of the 1997/98 season, when ironically the Hoops would go on to win a first title in a decade under Wim Jansen.
Grant retuned to Celtic as part of Tony Mowbray’s coaching staff, but he wasn’t at the club long as Mowbray was sacked as Hoops boss after less than a year.
He shouldn’t be remembered for that though, Grant should be remembered as someone who played with their heart on their sleeve, who gave their all for Celtic and was perhaps under-appreciated at times.
