final. The following two seasons were disappointing, and Celtic did not win a trophy. They lost the 1990 Scottish Cup Final to Aberdeen on penalties. Celtic's league performance was particularly poor; after finishing in third place in 1988–89, they managed only fifth in 1989–90 and third in 1990–91. This was the beginning of a period of poor results and increasing financial instability for Celtic, which continued until the club was taken over by Fergus McCann in 1994. McNeill was sacked by Celtic on 22 May 1991 after four seasons as manager, at the age of 51. In two spells he won eight trophies as Celtic manager – four League championships, three Scottish Cups and one League Cup. After leaving Celtic he turned down several offers to return to management, including from Dundee, and worked in the media instead. He remained bitter about the manner of his departure from Celtic, until he was asked to become a club ambassador in 2009. Hibernian McNeill had a brief spell as football development manager at Hibernian in the later part of the 1997–98 season. He was brought in as a mentor to manager Jim Duffy, as they unsuccessfully attempted to arrest a decline in fortunes at the club. McNeill took charge of the team for one game after Duffy was sacked, even though he had been out of football since leaving Celtic in 1991 and was recovering from heart surgery. He left Hibernian at the end of the 1997–98 season. Books McNeill wrote three autobiographies: Awards and recognition McNeill was awarded the MBE in November 1974. In 2002 he was voted Celtic's greatest ever captain, and a member of Celtic's greatest team, by the club's fans. He was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2004. In December 2015 Celtic installed a statue at the entrance to the Celtic Way outside Celtic Park, created by sculptor John McKenna. The statue, in bronze on a granite base, shows McNeill holding aloft the European Cup, an iconic image in the club's history. In 2019, he was recognised with the "One Club Award" by Spanish club Athletic Bilbao for his achievements and loyalty to Celtic. A short time after his death, the new sports pitch at his former school, Our Lady's High, was named in his honour. In 2019, the Billy McNeill Commemoration Committee was created