Now he reckons the player will add precious mettle to Scots champions-in-waiting Celtic when he joins them at the end of the season.

Butcher was boss at Motherwell when McDonald – dubbed ‘Skippy’ by Scots fans – arrived at the club following disappointing stints at Aberdeen and Southampton.

The pair got off to a fiery start but McDonald soon found his killer touch in front of goal.

"Scott had arrived at Motherwell on the rebound from a rejection at Aberdeen, who had dismissed him because he was too beefy for them. And they were right as well,” Butcher told the Scottish Daily Record.

"But we got the weight off him at Fir Park before the fighting started between Scott and me. Basically, he wanted to play the game his way and I wasn't having that.

"There were a few 'hairdryer' moments until Scott found out that I could swear in Scottish and that was the end of the matter.

"Finding players like him is the same as panning for gold, you never know when your luck's in."

Butcher said Celtic was a dream move for McDonald...despite scoring two goals against them which cost the club the Premiership: "Let me assure you that Scott has gone to the club where he most wants to play.

"He might have taken a long, convoluted route to get there, but Celtic Park is the place for him.

"I for one will never forget that game at Fir Park on the final day of the season, but I think Scott's consigned that moment to history in his mind.

"The only thing he'll be feeling in his subconscious is that he owes the Celtic fans a lot and he'll do everything to pay them back. And Scott has the advantage of being different from anything else Celtic have to choose from where their striking options are concerned.

"He had big Jim Hamilton up front with him at Motherwell, whereas Celtic can offer him Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink as his foil.

"I think Scott has the ability to be one of those players who grows in stature and improves because he's got better quality round about him, and I mean no disrespect to Motherwell by saying that."

Butcher also praised some of the A-League Aussies he spotted during his troubled time Down Under who he’d love to take to the UK if only he could.

He added: "There are a lot of good young players I remember from my time at Sydney but the difficulty is if they don't have a European passport and clubs have to apply for a work permit on their behalf.

"I have no regrets about going to Sydney. It was a big challenge and to live and work in the city was unbelievable."