Eddie Wolecki Black has spent over two years defying doctors. Now, the new head coach of Celtic Women wants to spend the next two cementing the club's place at the top of the Scottish game.

In March 2016, Wolecki Black suffered a brain haemorrhage at half-time as his Airdrieonians side took on Cowdenbeath. It left him fighting for his life.

His family were told to prepare for the worst. Doctors gave him 48 hours. Even if he made it through that, they doubted he would walk or talk again.

The 53-year-old says "determination and grit", and the support of his family, got him through, which is why he will not be fazed by the size of the task facing him at Celtic.

"I was determined to prove people wrong," he told BBC Scotland. "I got over that 48 hours and here I am standing here. When you've got a bit of determination in life it's amazing how far you can go."

'Motherwell saw past my walking stick'

Wolecki Black has joined a club where the stadium entrance proudly boasts of the 'double-treble'.

But that is only halfway towards matching the four consecutive trebles he achieved with Glasgow City between 2011 and 2015.

Despite that success at Petershill Park, the Dundonian struggled to get back into the game after his illness. Clubs could not see past his walking stick, his laboured gait and his slow speech.

That changed eight months ago when Motherwell Ladies took a chance on him, even supporting him as he went for treatment in the United States - a procedure he describes as "getting injections into my spine and being turned upside down".

Eight months on, Wolecki Black has led Motherwell to the brink of promotion to the top flight. They sit 13 points clear in the SWPL 2 - an advantage that would have been even greater had it not been for an early-season points deduction for submitting a teamsheet late.

He wants to stay and win the title before moving to Celtic, partly to complete the job he started, but also as a thank you to the club for giving him the chance when many looked the other way.

"It's easy to see someone like me who has a stick or a wheelchair and think 'they can't do a job like that', but so far at Motherwell that has proved to be wrong," said the former Montrose player.

"They saw past the prejudice because they saw something in me that I maybe didn't see in myself at the time. Thankfully I managed to fulfil their aims and ambitions."

'I realised I was wrong about Celtic'

Eddie Wolecki Black meets the man who saved his life

Wolecki Black had previously been vocal about what he perceived to be a half-hearted attitude by both Celtic and Rangers towards their women's teams.

He takes charge of a side who - during the five-year tenure of David Haley - reached two of the last three SWPL Cup finals, albeit suffering a crushing 9-0 defeat to Hibs in May's showpiece game.

Despite that humbling, Celtic have been on an upward trajectory - one that Wolecki Black can continue all the way into the Champions League.

"At Glasgow City, we managed to get to the quarter finals of the Champions League, and I'd love to think at this club we could compete at that level," he said.

"To follow in the footsteps of the men's team, that would be phenomenal. They have the resources, the conditions, the facilities; everything's here for a winning team.

"I was previously critical of the Old Firm for maybe not pushing the women's teams forward. But having been in and out of this stadium for the last couple of weeks, I've realised I was misinformed.

"I think it's just about building confidence, getting a real togetherness with the players and improving their communication on and off the park.

"Recruitment is going to be vital in that. If we're going to compete, we're going to have to have the good players."