He might have clocked the quote on the statue in front of Celtic Park and stuck in the back of his mind for later use.
Then again, it might just be a sentiment he shares.
But, either way, Benjamin Nygren rolling out the famous line from club immortal Jock Stein about football being nothing without fans was a decent way to endear himself to supporters.
Not that he needed any fancy PR tricks after his performance at Pittodrie.
The silky Swede helped swat the Dons aside in Sunday’s 2-0 victory in the north east to maintain his side’s unbeaten start to the defence of their Premiership crown.
Nygren’s first goal for Celts was a touch of clash when he swept up Kieran Tierney’s pinpoint cross into the bottom corner. Article continues below
The playmaker topped off the win