When John Barnes was sacked as Celtic boss in 2000 just seven months into a three-year contract, it seemed that his managerial career was over before it had ever really started.

After all, by the time that Barnes had left Parkhead, the Bhoys were not only 10 points adrift of leaders and bitter rivals Rangers, he had also overseen one of the worst results in the club's history during a Scottish Cup tie at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Visiting Thistle were made up of part-time players, but they were still able to record a 3-1 win over the Glasgow giants - an outcome that resulted in the famous 'Super Caley go ballistic Celtic are atrocious' headline from The Sun.

Barnes, who had spent around £15m to bring in Eyal Berkovic, Rafael Scheidt, Stilian Petrov and Olivier Tebily, was handed his P45 shortly after and almost instantly disappeared off the radar.

However, six years ago today, the former Liverpool winger left his role as head coach of Jamaica - a position that he had held for only a short while - to return to club football with League One outfit Tranmere Rovers, where he would be assisted by ex-teammate Jason McAteer.

Speaking to BBC Sport following his appointment, the 45-year-old said: "I'm looking forward to it. As long as you have 11 committed players on the field with good organisation and structure we can be competitive [this season].

"Once the opportunity presented itself, I had no hesitation getting in touch with Peter Johnson, the chairman, and talking to him about my ideas for the club [and] for the team. He thought I was the man to take the club forward.

"I'm looking to get players in. Maybe the budget is going to be smaller than it was, it didn't put me off at all and I would have walked over hot coals to get here."

Meanwhile, chairman Johnson added: "I am delighted John has agreed to become our manager as he was our first choice for the position.

"With John and Jason as the club's management team they bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and contacts within the game. They are a Wirral-based partnership who are very enthusiastic about what they can offer Tranmere and I look forward to watching their team play next season."

The excitement soon subsided, though, as Rovers struggled under Barnes's guidance. They won just two of their first 11 league encounters, losing eight times. One of those defeats was a 5-0 hammering at the hands of Millwall, which was the club's biggest loss in five years.

A Johnstone's Paint Trophy defeat to Bury of League Two in October 2009 proved to be the final straw for the board at Prenton Park as both Barnes and McAteer, who it is alleged were branded 'Dumb and Dumber' by the Tranmere players, were sacked.