I made my Celtic debut at Wembley on the day I signed - then quit six months later to seal a dream exit
A six-month loan stint at Stranraer helped launch his career. Four years later, he made a dream debut at Wembley on the day he signed for Celtic.
But just like his spell at Stair Park, Danny Fox's second stint in Scotland proved to be short-lived as the £1.5million capture from Coventry City quickly headed back down south. Highly-rated Fox became the third summer signing of Tony Mowbray's reign in 2009 when he put pen to paper on a four-year deal. The set-piece specialist had come through the ranks at Everton and was given his first taste of senior football at Stranraer in 2005 - before being released by Davie Moyes as a teenager.
Yet rather than lick his wounds and wonder what could have been, the setback fired up Fox to salvage his career - starring at Walsall and Coventry before sealing a big switch to Celtic Park. He said: "I was young and complacent and was used to everything being done for me at Goodison Park. I needed a kick up the backside and the manager fixed it for me to go to Stranraer because he knew Neil Watt, who was boss there at the time.
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"Being at Stair Park gave me a new lease of life and I'll always think of it as a great experience, even the away games at Forfar in the freezing cold. I managed to win a league championship medal while I was there and I'd love to add another one as a Celtic player."
An attacking full-back with a wicked delivery, Fox appeared to be an ideal fit at the Hoops. On paper, it seemed like a shrewd signing too, as the defender had just been voted into the PFA’s Championship Team of the Year. And no sooner had the new Bhoy posed with the scarf above his head was he thrown in for a dream bow in the famous Bumblebee kit at Wembley - coming on as a sub in the 5-0 thrashing of Egyptian heavyweights Al-Ahly.
It was the definition of a whirlwind 24 hours for Fox, who quickly made an impression in Mowbray's new-look team before a niggling injury disrupted his form. However, it wasn't long before the English-born player - who would earn four caps with Scotland - began to find his feet again at the turn of the year.
But in the final days of the January 2010 transfer window, Fox stunned the green-and-white faithful by jumping ship to join Premier League outfit Burnley after just 24 appearances for Celtic. It was a puzzling move that left Hoops fans scratching their heads, with Mogga's side trailing well behind Rangers in the title race.
Fox, though, claimed the men who control the purse strings at Parkhead were behind his sudden departure. He said: "I think with the way Scottish football is going at the moment, financial reasons and stuff like that, Celtic were maybe offered a lot more money than they paid for me.
"It was an opportunity I couldn't really turn down myself. Players from all over the world want to come and play in the Premier League. My relationship with Tony Mowbray was fine. He is a very honest man. I am grateful for him for taking me to Celtic. I enjoyed playing under him along with Mark Venus and Peter Grant. It was a great learning curve playing in front of 60,000 people. It is quite intimidating but makes you a lot stronger mentally as well."
In a truly chaotic winter window that ended with eight arrivals and nine high-profiles departures - including captain Stephen McManus, vice-skipper Gary Caldwell and top scorer Scott McDonald - Celtic replaced Fox by swooping for Bayern Munich's Edson Braafheid on a short-term loan deal.
Arguably the worst signing of the dismal Mogga era, the Dutch international proved a major flop in Glasgow - yet somehow played in a World Cup final for the Netherlands just weeks after being given the boot by newly-appointed Neil Lennon. A bizarre chapter in Celtic's history.
