John Clark is remembered as arguably Celtic's best ever defender.

He was born in 1941 in Larkhall and played for Larkhall Thistle before moving to Parkhead in 1958. The early years of Clark's playing career as a wing-half showed few signs of his later glory. He first attracted attention after scoring the only goal in a Cup tie replay against Hibernian in 1961. His performance won him a place in the final, replacing captain Bertie Peacock.

But it was the arrival of Jock Stein at Celtic Park that marked the transformation of Clark's career. Stein employed him as sweeper behind Billy McNeill and he never looked back.

Clark was a quiet, down-to-earth character and his cool head was one of his best attributes. A defender through and through, some even joked that he needed a map any time he crossed the half-way line.

In the summer of 1971 Clark left Celtic for Morton with team-mate Stevie Chalmers. He played in the Scottish League twice and won four caps for his country. He then teamed up with McNeill as his assistant manager at Aberdeen and Celtic.

After leaving Celtic in 1983 he managed Clyde although he never matched the success of his playing days.