Exit from Celtic was my best move, says McParland

Oct 9 2008 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

TONY McParland has shared a dressing room with Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton.

He came through the Celtic youth ranks with Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady.

The fleet-footed winger was tipped for a top future by then-Hoops boss Martin O’Neill while he has also played under former Celtic skipper Paul Lambert at Wycombe.

But the 26-year-old attacker has revealed life at Livingston under new boss Roberto Landi has been the experience of a lifetime.

He said: “I played under Martin O’Neill at Celtic and he was always very good with me.

“He was always encouraging me and offered me a new contract and I loved my time there.

“But it was time for me to get some first-team experience so I had to move on.

“Landi and O’Neill are completely different and I must admit it has been refreshing under Landi as it is my first time playing under a foreign coach.

“It took a while to get used to, but it has been good.

“Landi has a very relaxed style and even if we are not playing well he doesn’t go over the top with us.

“His laid-back manner has filtered through to the team and I think that is reflected in our results.”

Livingston were not tipped to be challenging at the top of the First Division this season but the Lions have surprised everyone with their blistering start to the season.

And they have even surprised themselves, conceded McParland.

He continued: “I don’t think we expected to be top of the league at this stage as we had a new manager, an almost entire new team and we were starting from scratch.

“We have surprised everyone with our start, as we are ahead of schedule.

“All the new boys have gelled very quickly and I think the manager’s relaxed attitude has helped.

“I think we can hang on and win the league as we are as good as anyone in the division.

“Anyone can beat anyone else in this league and consistency is the key.

“I think we have proved that we can beat anyone in this league and, last weekend apart, we have been very consistent.

“There are some great young players at Livingston and even those who aren’t in the team at the moment have great potential.

“These guys are keeping us all on our toes and there is no doubt players like Murray Davidson and Leigh Griffiths can play at a higher level.”

After high-flying wins over Dundee and Partick Thistle the table-topping Lions came thudding down to earth with a Palmerston pasting from Queen of the South.

But it was simply a bad day at the office, insists McParland.

“It was just one of those horrible days that every team has at one stage or another.

“I can’t see that happening again this year.

“We made a lot of errors and they capitalised on them. We made them look like world beaters but many of our problems we brought on ourselves.

“Although we are still joint top there are five or six teams still within a few points of us and any one of us could win the league.

“The important thing is that we are still in with a shout and we continue to pick up points and win games.”

Although the speedy wideboy is just a few months into his Almondvale career, he is quick to acknowledge the chance afforded to him in West Lothian.

Being top of the league and in the hunt for a place in the SPL have more than justified his move back to Scotland, while a cup clash last month at Celtic Park sticks out in McParland’s mind.

He said: “The move has been great for me. It has been a great experience to be playing week in week out, as I missed out on a lot of first-team experience when I was younger.

“It was great to go back to Celtic Park last month and it was a terrific experience.

“It is something I am very grateful to Livingston for, and I never expected to be back playing at Celtic Park.

“I came through the ranks of the club with Stephen McManus, Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady.

“We are still all in touch and I see Aiden quite regularly, so it was great to play against them.”

After failing to break into the Celtic first team McParland moved to Barnsley before a spell at Wycombe and his time at both clubs has played their part in moulding a better, more mature player.

“I went to Barnsley for 18 months and I loved my time there. I didn’t play as much as I’d have liked but even just training with them was a great experience and I matured a lot in that time,” he admitted.