I agreed my Celtic transfer exit hours before a Champions League clash — the gaffer's speech stunned my teammates

Daily Record

26-06-2025

The defender knew he was leaving the club but didn't think twice about playing to help Celts reach the next round
It's matchday in Sweden and Kelvin Wilson is unwinding in his hotel room ahead of a crucial Champions League qualifier against Elfsborg.
The defender is gearing up for a nervy night when there's a knock at the door - and in walks Neil Lennon, the last person Wilson expected to see.
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All sorts of thoughts are racing through the stopper's head. He feared he might've been in the Celtic manager's bad books - but it turned out to be the opposite.
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The Englishman was entering his third season at Parkhead after leaving boyhood club Nottingham Forest. He'd won back-to-back titles, lifted the Scottish Cup, and played a key role in the famous run to the Champions League last 16.
On the park, it couldn't have been going much better. But off it, Wilson felt a world away from his loved ones.
With his wife and newborn daughter still down south, he was missing out on the most important years of his child's life. Lennon - who had played alongside Wilson at Forest before bringing him to Glasgow - understood better than most.
And that's why, in the summer of 2013, the Irishman eventually gave Wilson his blessing to return to the City Ground. But only on one condition.
In an exclusive interview with Record Sport, Wilson recalled: "That week, in the build-up to it, my agent rang me and said, 'Kelv, Forest are interested in taking you back. Would you be interested now?'
"I said I would be interested. So Neil pulled me because it was in the papers, and said, 'You're not going anywhere.' I was like, 'Okay, fair enough.'
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"I spoke to him a few times throughout that week, and then we got to Elfsborg. It was the day of the game and I was in my hotel room. I got a knock at my door, I've opened it, and it's Lenny.
"He's come into my room and asked, 'Right, do you want to go?' And I was like, 'It's something that I've made clear to you that I'd be interested because I need to get back to my daughter.'
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"He said, 'Right, they've offered £2.5million and we're willing to accept it. We're not accepting it because we want you to go, we're accepting it because you want to go. If you want to stay, I'll get you a new deal and you can stay longer.'
"I told him it wasn't about the money and he knew that. He just said, 'Play tonight for me, get us through to the Champions League, and you'll go with our blessing.'
"I didn't think twice about playing and I was Man of the Match, so I think I played alright.
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"I remember Lenny doing a speech in the changing room after, just letting all the players know that I was leaving. A lot of them were shocked and couldn't believe it."
It was a fitting way to sign off his Hoops career - going out on a high. But while Wilson left as a mainstay at the back, his debut season in Glasgow was anything but smooth sailing.
His first taste of an Old Firm derby ended in disaster as Celts crashed to a 4-2 defeat at Ibrox. Wilson was at fault for one of the goals, and he didn't hide from it.
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He admitted: "It was just a massive shock to the system.
"I think I was maybe a little bit overwhelmed by it, because I didn't perform to my standards at all.
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"I didn't have the best first six months, and I think that was the game that knocked my confidence a little bit and brought me down to earth."
An injury ruled him out for weeks, and he soon found himself behind Daniel Majstorovic, Charlie Mulgrew, Glen Loovens and Thomas Rogne in the pecking order.
By the end of that first campaign, many had written him off - everyone except Lennon.
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A quick-fire return to England with Leicester City was on the table. But Wilson revealed: "I think Nigel Pearson rang me one evening and said, 'We're really interested in you.'
"I spoke to Neil, and he was adamant, 'No, not a chance.' His man management there just made me feel like, 'Wow, he still rates me as a player even though I've not done it in the first year.'
"Then we went to Philadelphia to play Real Madrid. I had a good game and I remember him in the changing rooms after just saying, 'You've played unbelievably against the world's best, you've set your standards.'
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"And that was it. That just set me up for that season."
Wilson knew he had a point to prove - and the centre-back showed his mettle with a colossal display against Helsingborg in the Champions League play-offs, a night he views as the turning point of his Celtic career.
"I remember I had a great game", he said. "The final whistle went, we qualified and one of their players came up to me.
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"He couldn't speak much English, but he said, 'What a player.' And he was pointing his finger at me. I think that just rocked me then.
"It was literally that point. I was just going into every game knowing that I was going to play well, league and Europe."
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Then came the crowning moment - THAT glory night against Barcelona.
The 39-year-old, who played every minute of Celtic's 2012/13 European run, still pinches himself thinking back.
He smiled: "I remember warming up and I said to Kris Commons, 'I've got a feeling we're going to win today.'
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"I just felt strong, quick, energetic. I was just thinking, 'If everyone else feels like I feel today, there's no chance they're going to beat us.'
"It was a special night. I remember all the banners they made and walking out to them.
"It's a moment that I'll treasure forever and it's definitely, without a doubt, the highlight of my career."
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Wilson's time at Celtic Park was short but sweet. By his own admission, it ended too soon. But at the end of the day, family always comes first.
He added: "I don't regret anything in my career. If there's something that I would've changed, yes, looking back, I do wish I had longer at Celtic, without a doubt.
"If personal circumstances were different, without a doubt, that would've been the case. But you've got to give and take a little bit.
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"I did have a daughter, and that's more important than football and having the time that I've had with her.
"It's probably a little bit of a bittersweet thing. I wish I had stayed a little bit longer and had a bit more success.
"I'm a Forest fan, so for me to say Celtic's the best club I've been at is a big statement. It's just a fantastic, unbelievable club. I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of it."
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