WHEN Barry Robson stepped out in front of just 397 spectators at Station Park in October 1999 to play for Forfar Athletic against Dumbarton, a month short of his 21st birthday, he underwent a rebirth as both a person and a footballer.
It was the day it dawned on the midfielder, who had been released by Rangers two years earlier without making the first team breakthrough at Ibrox, that he was underachieving woefully in a game he was treating as little more than a hobby.
It was t
he day which set Robson on the path to the £1.25 million transfer from Dundee United to Celtic he concluded on Thursday night and has him contemplating the prospect of playing against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League later this month.
It is a quantum leap from when he was loaned out to Forfar in the third division by Inverness Caledonian Thistle, but Robson's arrival at the SPL champions is no fairytale. It is simply a story of a talented footballer coming to his senses and dedicating himself to being the best he can possibly be on and off the pitch.
"When I was at Rangers, I just enjoyed a laugh, I didn't really understand what it was about," said Robson yesterday as he was formally unveiled as a Celtic player at a media conference at Parkhead.
"I didn't understand what I could achieve in the game at that time, I didn't really take football that seriously. I wasn't a bad lad or anything like that, I just didn't appreciate how good football could be for you.
"But when I got to around 20 I realised that I could really do something with my career. I went out on loan to Forfar and that's when a switch went off inside my head and I thought 'wait a minute Barry, you're better than this'. I suddenly knew my career could go a lot further than that. The Inverness manager at that time (Steve Paterson) felt it would help my maturity to go to Forfar and it did. I went down to the third division, did well, and took it from there. That's when I got my head down, started working hard and made sure I got back to the top.
"It took me a lot of years to get back to where I wanted to be, but I eventually got there. It's just been through pure hard work and having a good family around me. I've worked hard at my game, staying behind after training every day and working longer than other people.
"I've only just turned 29 and I've looked after myself well. I've lived my life right and that will hopefully help me play on well into my 30s. Every pre-season I come back, I feel stronger and better. That's just down to eating and drinking the right things.
"It has been unbelievable hard work to get to where I am now, but it's going to be even harder to stay there. I look forward to the challenge at Celtic and I believe I can do well here."
Robson, ineligible for today's Scottish Cup fifth round tie at Kilmarnock, can expect to make his Celtic debut next weekend when his new club resume the defence of their SPL title against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
He is confident he can adapt quickly to the demands which surround an Old Firm player. "I won't be overawed by it," he said. "I know what it's like to play at Parkhead, although I don't know what it's like to play here for Celtic. It's better playing in front of 60,000 people than in front of six. If you don't have that ambition to better yourself and move on to a higher level, then I don't think there is any point being a football player. I told Craig Levein that at the time I signed my last contract with Dundee United. They are a fantastic club, but I wanted to play at the highest level possible.
"This is a big leap in terms of the size and prestige of the club I'm joining, but Dundee United are still a big club and I had a bit of added pressure there as captain. Hopefully that will stand me in good stead for coming here."
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan is hopeful Robson can emulate the success Scott McDonald has enjoyed with the champions since joining them from Motherwell last summer.
"It's the same situation, a player coming from another Scottish club," said Strachan. "We give them a chance to see if they can adapt to the pressure of playing for this club. Barry has been in our face since I came here two and a half years ago. He's been annoying me for two and a half years and I thought, that's enough, well get him along here."
Of the five players Strachan added to his squad during the January transfer window, only loan signing Georgios Samaras is likely to feature against Kilmarnock today. The injured Andreas Hinkel joins the cup-tied Robson on the sidelines, while 20-year-old English striker Ben Hutchinson and 22-year-old Japanese winger Koki Mizuno will not be rushed into first team action.
Meanwhile, Celtic have offloaded Poland striker Maciej Zurawski to Greek side Larissa.
Zurawski scored 30 goals in 73 appearances after signing from Wisla Krakow in the summer of 2005. He did not score in eight appearances during this campaign, which was again interrupted by niggling injuries.
The Poland skipper was keen to move on to get regular football after being warned by international coach Leo Beenhakker his place in the Euro 2008 squad was in jeopardy.
Ford focuses on turning tables as Killie target upsetSIMON Ford has been on the receiving end of cup shocks, now he wants Kilmarnock to cause one.
Kilmarnock face Scottish Cup holders Celtic in the fifth round at Rugby Park today and Ford knows if his side can progress to the last eight it will be a major surprise.
Kilmarnock crashed out of this season's CIS Insurance Cup to Hamilton and last year were humbled by Morton in the Scottish Cup.
Now Ford wants to create cup upset headlines of his own against Celtic.
Ford said: "We've been on the receiving end of cup shocks but it would definitely be nice to cause one. We go and try to win every game and it would certainly be a big scalp if we beat Celtic.
"We know it'll be a tough game but we're at home and the onus is on us to attack. It'll probably be a more open game and hopefully we can cause an upset for once."
Ford revealed Killie's squad held talks following their SPL defeat to Dundee United and that brought the squad together ahead of their fourth-round clash with Airdrie.
He said: "We needed a victory and to get a clean sheet was good. We had clear-the-air talks on Sunday when the players and the manager said what they had to say."
The full article contains 1194 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
