GORDON STRACHAN has yet to hold the meeting with his Celtic backroom team and coaches at which he will outline his expectations for the coming months and years, but when it eventually happens, he need not feel he is walking into a room full of strangers.

One of his members of staff once even assaulted him.

If Tommy Burns feels any inclination to be the first to offer Strachan a chair, or bring him an apple every morning, that would be an understandable consequence of what today seems a comical flashpoint more than a quarter of a century in the past. Essentially, the current Celtic director of youth development kicked the current Celtic manager up in the air.

The pair were playing in a particularly turbulent Aberdeen-Celtic match at Pittodrie in September 1979 when Strachan - who had already scored the opener - gave Burns a nudge which was missed by the referee. Burns was furious and, as Strachan scampered away with the ball, he chased him and lunged in with the smell of blood in his nostrils. One red-headed midfielder was sent flying, the other was sent off.

"I had many years of playing against him, " Burns recalled when reminded of a moment which does not feature on his list of career highlights. "We had six or seven years of playing against each other. They were always very competitive games against probably the best Aberdeen team of all time. We had some great tussles.

"In that game at Pittodrie, I just made after him - like a coiled spring - and had a mad swing. There was a bit of a hullabaloo and I got sent off."

It would not be sensible to rush to a bookies to place a bet on Strachan exacting revenge by sacking Burns any time soon.

When the new manager settles into his office at Parkhead he will surely regard his former on-field adversary and occasional Scotland squad-mate as an invaluable colleague.

In addition to the contribution Burns makes as an intelligent figurehead and strategist for Celtic's vast youth network - in a role which demands continuity and is unaffected by any change of manager - he also has a priceless background as the only member of Strachan's staff who has experienced the relentless demands, intrusion and pressure of being in charge of one half of the Old Firm.

Burns was a sounding board for Martin O'Neill when the Irishman arrived in Scotland five years ago and he will be similarly useful for Strachan.

Listening to Burns last week, while he was in Belarus on international duty as Walter Smith's deputy, served as a rewarding illustration of how Strachan's life is about to change. As he reflected onhis three seasons in charge of Celtic, Burns - who memorably described being an Old Firm boss as an existence in which one half of Glasgow hates you and the other half thinks it owns you - was equally articulate in describing the heightened pressures inherited by O'Neill's successor.

Up to this point, the relationship between Burns and Strachan has never extended beyond the general kinship of two playing contemporaries, yet they each have a rounded personality and share an appreciation of the importance of striking a balance between a full personal life and the stress of high profile management.

What Burns found difficult to deal with was the sense of being permanently under scrutiny. There was never a moment, never a second, when he felt off duty and able to blend into the general public.

"That can be an irritating thing because you never get a chance to sit and daydream or look at a fly going up a wall or stand somewhere with your mouth open, like everyone else does, because people are always watching every small thing. Sometimes that can drive you potty. You just want peace to sit for five minutes or be able to walk up to the shops without someone looking at you."

The ability to handle that degree of celebrity will be one of the defining aspects of Strachan's ability to succeed at Celtic. Burns works for Scotland with Ally McCoist and has huge admiration for the former Rangers striker's capacity for treating fans, critics and the general public with courtesy, humour and warmth.

"You see someone like Ally McCoist, who is the most popular guy in the world - he has time for everybody - and you learn from that. No doubt Gordon will also learn whether he can cope with it well. I think he will have mellowed over the years and will have taken advice from people regarding the pressures at the Old Firm, but the psychological side of it will be his biggest problem."

Burns had the advantage of taking over a ragged Celtic which had been rudderless under Liam Brady and Lou Macari, so expectations were comparatively real during his spell in charge - from July 1994 to May 1997 - in which the club were praised for attractive football but won only a solitary Tennent's Scottish Cup. No such leniency will be afforded to Strachan, who has taken the job after a period in which O'Neill set the bar incredibly high.

"The new boss has earned the admiration of Burns just for accepting the challenge in the first place. He said:

"Gordon is taking over from a guy who had five years of hardly losing any matches. He instilled a real winning mentality in that group of players.

"He had an astonishing percentage of wins and that's what the job is all about. I think some people would look at it and reckon they wouldn't fancy going in after someone like Martin O'Neill with all the success and adulation he received.

"Some would be cynical and say, 'I don't think it's the right time for me. I'll maybe wait a year or 18 months and see how the next guy goes'. But I don't think Gordon's like that. He sees it as a great opportunity, which it is. It's the sharp end of the game - big city, big demands, big pressure. As a player, that's the only place you ever wanted to be. As a manager, it's not any different.

"He has to go in there now after a group who, for the last five years, have taken the club to great heights and it seems now as if it's coming to an end and there's going to be a lot of coming and going. He's not got much time to make his changes before the season starts and he'll immediately be judged on results.

"The expectations never change - Celtic look to win every game no matter who they're playing against. There is no point saying that the expectations should be lowered because they never will be, and that's what makes the job difficult.

"But who's to say Gordon won't go in and improve things and do even better?

It's certainly a tall order but anything can happen. People who take on challenges like this always think they can improve a situation rather than just thinking, 'I'm under pressure'."

If he rises to that challenge, maybe this time Strachan will enjoy getting a kick out of Celtic.