I played in the Premier League and was an Irish World Cup hero… then I earned a crust with my hit Cornish pasty shop
CHRIS MORRIS broke the mould after retiring from football as he went in to work at a Cornish pastry shop.
The former Middlesbrough and Celtic star hung up his boots in 1997 after suffering trouble with an ACL injury.
Many former players go straight into coaching or punditry.
But Morris had his family’s bakery business in Cornwall.
The shop was Morris Pasties and had been in his family since it was set up by his father.
However, Morris revealed in 2017 that the bakery was sold and that he had landed a job with the FA as a county coach developer in Cornwall, his home town.
He said: “I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring for the FA job, got interviewed and landed the job as the county coach developer for Cornwall.
“The family’s Cornish pasty business in Newquay, which is my home town, has changed hands after doing really well. It was a really good business which my dad set up.
“We’ve sold it on so it was the end of a little era but we did really well.
“Now I’m concentrating on football. It would be nice if I could do my bit to put Cornish football on the map.
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“It’s where I’m from, so I feel as though I’m giving something back to my own people. That’s great and I’m really enjoying it.”
Morris enjoyed a successful career as he was the only ever-present in Celtic’s centenary Double-winning team.
Morris, now 59, was a key figure as Billy McNeill’s legends won the title AND Scottish Cup in 1988.
He also went to the 1990 World Cup in Italy with the Republic of Ireland.
The defender played in every game as the Irish made it to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Italy.
On his achievements with Celtic, he said: “I’m very proud of the fact that I was the only ever-present in the centenary squad. There were 55 games and I played in all of them.
“It’s great to be remembered. Some squads define their own little place in Celtic history. No one will ever match the Lisbon Lions, and rightly so, because what they achieved was absolutely colossal.
“But what I find really touching is that one squad which regularly gets a mention is the centenary team.
“It makes me immensely proud. Not only was I part of a squad that won the Double under Billy, we have our own niche in the history of one of the greatest clubs in the world.
“Clinching the Double by beating Dundee United in the Cup final has to be my stand-out memory because it was such a joyous occasion.
“The year I came to Celtic, I’d actually had a tentative enquiry from United when Jim McLean was there and they’d just reached the final of the Uefa Cup.
“But I went to Celtic and we went on to prove we were a really good team.
“Frank McAvennie was the star of the show but we had the likes of Paul McStay, Mick McCarthy, Roy Aitken, Tommy Burns and Andy Walker in our side.”