‘Do you know how many pies I would have to sell on a Saturday to cover that twenty quid’ - Bertie Auld remembered on day of his funeral

Celtic supporters have bid an emotional farewell to Lisbon Lion great Bertie Auld at his funeral on Friday.

Ex-Hoops and current Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, joined the likes of Neil Lennon, Ange Postecoglou and a host of former team-mates and players at St Mary’s Church, Calton for the Requiem Mass, while thousands of fans gathered outside Parkhead to watch the service broadcasted live on big screens.

The funeral cortege then stopped at Celtic Park at approximately 1.30pm before a private cremation took place with Auld’s family present.

Former team-mate, Jim Craig, a member of the 1967 European Cup-winning side, said: “Bertie was a very talented player. He had good ball control, he was very quick over short distances and a fine passer of the ball. He scored a good few goals for Celtic as well, so he was well worth his place in the team.

“I don’t think there has ever been a player in the history of Celtic who had a better rapport with the supporters. He went to visit them all over the place, you name it he was there.

“He told stories all the time - the ones involving me were a pack of lies to be quite honest but there were other good ones as well! He was just an entertainer.

“He made a conscious effort to go to all the functions. Celtic Football Club was very special to him and he loved meeting all the fans.”

Ex-Celtic full-back Tom Boyd added: “Today is a day of mourning for Bertie but there will also be lots of smiles on the faces of fans, remembering what he gave the club as a player.

“There are so many wonderful stories of Bertie, some more broadcastable than others, but he was a great man.

“I’ve got a role as an ambassador of the football club. Bertie never had a title but he was up there in terms of how he represented our football club.

“He’s an icon, a hero and will be sadly missed.”

Alan Rough, who worked under Auld for a season as a player at Hibernian, stated: “We were all sitting on the bus earlier reminiscing over the stories, most of which are very, very humorous, about things that had happened to us as individuals and as part of the team.

“The memories that flood back were all good ones. The highlight with Bertie was coming into the dressing room when things weren’t going well. He had a knack of having a bit of banter with the players.

“He made everything so enjoyable. Training was good and there was always something going to happen.

“I’ve got a vivid memory of going into his manager’s office and asking for a £20 rise in my salary and he said to me ‘do you know how many pies I would have to sell on a Saturday to cover that twenty quid?’. I walked out feeling embarrassed asking for it.

“I always say in management if you get the respect of someone who has done something historic in the game and they walk into a dressing room, you obviously have to sit up and listen.

“Bertie had done that in 1967, the Lisbon Lion medal was always round his neck and he used to like showing it to us, so I’ve got some great memories of him.”