IT seems faintly ridiculous now given the huge contribution which he subsequently made to Celtic both as a player and then assistant manager to his close friend Tommy Burns.

But when Billy Stark was signed from Aberdeen back in 1987 the news was greeted with distinct coolness, if not downright dismay, by many of their supporters.

There could be no doubting the cultured midfielder’s ability – he had helped the Pittodrie club to win two Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup in the four preceding years.

Read more: Jonny Hayes lured back to Celtic by Brendan Rodgers - the coach who stole him away from Parkhead as a boy

But at the age of 30 the widespread feeling at the time was that his best days as a player were firmly behind him, that his powers were beginning to diminish.

Stark would, however, more than justify Billy McNeill’s faith in him and prove an invaluable servant for Celtic in that centenary season and beyond.

Like Ronnie Simpson and Pat Stanton before him and Lubomir Moravcik since, he showed that age is no barrier to doing well in the East End of Glasgow.

It is fair to say the £1.3 million acquisition of Jonny Hayes from Aberdeen last week has also been rather underwhelming for many Celtic supporters.

They are hoping to see Brendan Rodgers bring in expensive and glamorous foreign imports who can help them make an even greater impact in the Champions League in the new season and possibly even reach the knockout stages.

Hayes, who turns 30 at the start of next month, is an outstanding professional who Rodgers knows well having worked with him at Reading at the start of his coaching career.

Read more: Jonny Hayes lured back to Celtic by Brendan Rodgers - the coach who stole him away from Parkhead as a boy

But will the Republic of Ireland internationalist make much of a difference to them domestically never mind in Europe? A fair few remain to be convinced.

Stark, who has just been appointed manager at ambitious Lowland League club East Kilbride, though, has no doubt the winger will win them around just as he himself did following his own move from Aberdeen to Celtic 30 years ago.

“There is a comparison there between Jonny Hayes and myself,” he said. “He has played with Aberdeen, who have been Celtic’s biggest rivals, for the last few seasons and has now moved to Parkhead.

“The grumbling there has been about his signing, about him ‘only’ costing around £1 million, happened with me to an extent. You are termed ‘a bargain buy’. But I was able to overcome any scepticism there was early on, play a part in the team doing well and enjoy success.

“I am sure Jonny will do the same. I don’t have any doubts he will do well. We are different types of players obviously. He is a bit quicker than I was. But his whole package is very good. He is a real out-and-out winger because he takes people on, he can score, he can finish, but he works hard for the team as well.

“That is what will have interested Brendan I am sure. Everyone has to work hard for the team under him. He also likes wide players. They play a big part in his teams. I think Jonny will maybe surprise quite a few folk.”

Read more: Jonny Hayes lured back to Celtic by Brendan Rodgers - the coach who stole him away from Parkhead as a boy

Stark certainly did. In fact, he made an instant impression. He scored the only goal of the first Old Firm game of the season against reigning Scottish champions Rangers at Parkhead in August.

That was a result which would prove the catalyst for an outstanding campaign. Celtic would go on complete an historic Premier League and Scottish Cup double in the 1987/88 campaign.

The player had worked under Sir Alex Ferguson at both St. Mirren and Aberdeen and flourished under his expert guidance. However, he found McNeill, who had just returned for his second spell in charge, to be every bit as impressive.

“Fergie and big Billy were quite similar in that they were both great personalities,” he said. “They both had a confidence as a result of the success they had had. For all that Fergie could be hard on his players, and he was on a weekly basis, he loved a laugh. Big Billy did as well. There were parallels there.

“The age thing could have been a problem for me at Celtic. But big Billy dealt with it very cleverly. He handled my signing well. He was getting a deal for Andy Walker tied up around about the same time. Andy was a young up-and-coming goalscorer. He put that out first. I joined on the back of that.

“I was well-known in Scottish football and would hope that I had a reasonable reputation. But I could sense there was a slight negativity about signing a player of my age. Billy very kindly said that he wished he had signed me in his first spell at the club.

“Fortunately, we managed to have a successful season. We beat Morton 4-0 down in Greenock in our first league game and I managed to score. That got me up and running. I am sure Jonny won’t look back at Celtic once he gets playing and nets a goal or two.”