MY FIRST Hampden appearance was in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup in 1971.

My dad had deemed it a suitable game to introduce me, his six-year-old son, to the big-match atmosphere. Airdrie provided the opposition and he probably felt that there was a relaxing day ahead with not much in the way of jeopardy or trauma for Celtic.

Not for the first time, Airdrie (whom I always associate with a hard and indomitable spirit) were having none of it.

I can’t remember the exact scoring sequence but I think Celtic were actually 3-1 ahead at one point before Airdrie scored two goals to earn a replay. Only 39,000 turned up to watch the game, an indication perhaps that few people expected any drama.

I also vividly remember Jimmy Johnstone scoring with a header in which it seemed his sheer strength of will caused him to climb over a multitude of bigger bodies in the six-yard area to score.

Airdrie’s spirited and skilful display was against a Celtic team still then considered to be among the top five clubs in Europe. And perhaps it was in tribute to their fine display in the first game that almost 10,000 more people turned up for the replay… which the Hoops won 2-0.

Throughout the 1970s there would be several more eye-catching semi-finals. Dundee and Aberdeen seemed to feature in lots of them, whereas Rangers always seemed to draw Hibs. These clubs then had excellent footballers who would always come to Hampden and have a real go at Celtic. In a 1972 League Cup semi-final against the Dons, I recall a Hungarian player called Zoltan Varga bossing a match in which Celtic just edged it in a wonderful 3-2 victory.

I’ve always felt that one of the reasons why Celtic were able to match Europe’s best teams between 1965 and 1974 is that the overall strength of Scottish football in this period was formidable.

The Rangers team of that time was one of the best in its history while Hibs, Aberdeen and Dundee always insisted on playing eye-catching and attractive football under the guidance of some excellent Scottish coaches.

It's why anyone who seeks to make comparisons between Celtic’s great nine-in-a-row side and Rangers are deluding themselves.

Rangers’ sequence was achieved when Celtic were recovering from almost being driven out of business by the incompetence of their previous board of directors and when Fergus McCann rescued us from the ignominy of administration (or worse) he insisted on paying all monies due to HMRC and outstanding creditors. What would have been the point in saving Celtic if it couldn’t be done honestly and morally?

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That it allowed Rangers a free run to some of their titles cut no ice with McCann. What mattered more to him was that no individual or business would be made to suffer financially because the club used financial skulduggery to avoid paying its bills.

Celtic's nine titles in a row were achieved during a golden age when the old Scottish First Division was reckoned to be among the strongest in Europe. Clubs such as Dunfermline, Hibs and Dundee reached European semi-finals and smaller clubs were much more able to hang on to their most talented players for far longer.

During this period, too, Hampden Park became Celtic’s second spiritual home. They played there dozens of times between the mid-1960s and mid-1970s. These included the home game against Leeds United in the 1970 European Cup semi-final and the World Club Cup in 1967 against Racing.

It seems extraordinary now that a club would willingly cede home advantage in two of the biggest games in its history, yet it also spoke of how confident Celtic were in the ability of their own players to defeat all-comers in any situation or on any ground. What a boost for a player’s self-esteem: that both your employers and your supporters believed in you so much that a switch of venue didn’t spook them.

In terms of PR and marketing, this was great for Scotland too. The Hampden game against Leeds created an attendance record for European club football that will stand for all time. It was also, I think, an acknowledgement that perhaps some supporters of other clubs wanted to be there too to share in Celtic’s success and that this reflected well on Scottish football as a whole.

In recent seasons Celtic’s love affair with Hampden has flowered once more. When the team plays against Rangers on Easter Sunday they will be seeking to make it an 18th successive victory at this old stadium.

Perhaps it’s Hampden’s slightly bigger pitch that suits Celtic, who will always seek to play expansive football. Sadly, it has been reduced in stature since the time when the greatest ever team was gracing it regularly.

In those days Hampden was one of the most magnificent arenas in world football. Now, it’s a mere shadow and no amount of pro-SFA propaganda from supine hacks can alter the sad truth of its decline. Is there a national stadium anywhere else in the world so lacking in atmosphere and any sense of occasion?

Perhaps, too, this is why the SFA has to spend small fortunes on firework displays on each Hampden day out: to create an artificial sense of occasion. The stadium needs to be demolished entirely and something built in its place that will allow it to compete for staging European finals once more - and which, more importantly, will allow more supporters in to watch their club compete for silverware.