Its John Collins !

The assistant manager hasn’t said much of late publicly, but he made up for lost time yesterday.

Celtic will struggle to sign players in January if they don’t qualify from Europa League group, admits John Collins

Er, thanks for that, John. Except thats not what he said. The headline is from the Daily Mail, and this quote from the Evening Times. Thats because in the text of the Mail article, Collins doesn’t say anything about players coming in. 

He said: “It is vitally important that we qualify. If we are looking for players in January and next summer, they will want to play in Europe.

“Good players want to be involved in the Champions League and Europa League. They don’t just want to play domestic football. So it is really important that we qualify.

“Is it our biggest selling point? Yeah, it’s very difficult to get top players if you are not in Europe.” 

More a statement of the obvious than anything else.

Looking ahead to tomorrows game, Collins continued;

 “Salzburg are a good team. They play some high tempo football and love to press.

“They are probably one of the best – if not the best – pressing team in Europe.

“They don’t give you a second on the ball and are always looking to pass forward It will be a new challenge for us.

“It’s something we don’t get in Scotland. Most teams sit off us here, so it is the exact opposite.” 

Actually, they don’t. Most teams think they have a shot against us now, so they tend to have a go.

‘If you dwell on the ball against teams like that they’ll take it off you in dangerous positions.

‘It should be a great game for us and that’s what we want — to learn and develop and keep stretching ourselves. We know we’re going to have to have a top performance to get a result. An average performance won’t get a result.’ 

 This urgency to get rid of the ball, and not dwell on it should really be combined with the concept of looking up to see where you are passing it to. Something which has eluded a number of players on a number of occasions this season.

 Anyone who has seen Celtic this season will have done so through their fingers when it comes to some of the passing. Its been reckless. Too many passes have gone astray, and worse, too many have put the recipient in a no win situation where he either cannot reach the ball, or will be booked for trying to.

 Instead of screaming at his charges to pass, maybe they should be working on awareness. Aware of where their team mates are, and where the opposition is.

 Collins also played down rumours of taking the Scotland Develpment job, with Dutchman Mark Wotte, who was mutually consented by the SFA, backing him for the job;

“It’s nice of Mark Wotte to say that but I’m the Celtic assistant manager,” he said. “I’m very, very happy here and it wouldn’t interest me at this stage.

Oh, well.

 Jason Denaayer, who picked up an ankle knock at the weekend, should be okay to play tonight, and he’s somewhat more optimistic about Celtics prospects in the Europa League than say, someone who had watched the games;

Denaayer also spoke of Red Bulls forwards, Massimo Bruno and the feared Jonathan Soriano;

“I know him ( Bruno ) from the Belgium international set-up. I have played two games with him with the Under-21s but he is a very good player.

“He is an excellent dribbler and very fast so if you are playing against him you have to be very careful. He didn’t play in Salzburg, he was on the bench.

“We haven’t spoken yet but I will send him some text messages just to say good luck.

“Soriano is a player with a lot of experience and is different from the other attackers.

“He isn’t really fast or really strong but he is very intelligent.

“He is the player we need to be most concerned with because he can change the game like this. With every pass, every attack.

“Before the game, the defenders have to be aware of him because he is their most important player.” 

 Denaayer does seem to be able to step up a level when he needs to. Virgil van Dijk, when he’s concentrating fully, also has that capability. We just need Emilio Izaguerre and Adam Matthews-likely to start in place of Mikael Lustig-to remember they are defenders first and foremost.

From a supporters point of view, tomorrow is perhaps the first chance we have to fill the ground, to bring back the thunder, and to paraphrase a reply from Doc to yesterdays Diary, make sure that Celtic Park on european nights isn’t just something for people to add to their bucket list.

 The interweb came alive with stories that John Guidetti is happy with what Celtic can offer, and will sign up permanently. If this is the case, it should be announced before the game. Although the Swede cannot feature, it will prove a timely boost for the fans, and show that perhaps Celtic do have plans to build a team which can approach the UCL next year, if not with confidence, but at least with optimism.

 Kris Commons is also pondering over a new offer, and Leicester City, according to the Express, are ready to swoop if he declines;

EXCLUSIVE: Leicester City hunt Celtic star Kris Commons

An exclusive in the Express usually means that all the other papers think its too ridiculous to run with.

But the Foxes will have to push their way in front of Bolton boss Neil Lennon, who is set to table a £350,000 bid in January.

Commons, 31, is no closer to agreeing a new deal at Celtic.

That has alerted newly-promoted sides Leicester and Crystal Palace, who are also interested in the playmaker.

Lennon has already confirmed his interest and he is keen to team up with Commons at the Macron Stadium.

Lennon has a close bond with the player. He took him to Celtic from Derby for £300,000 in 2011, and is confident he can fight off competition from English Premier League clubs. 

 If Commons is to go, Bolton would be the most likely destination, where he can link up with his old boss, and probably his bestest buddy Gary Hooper, who is so far out of contention at Norwich these days that they wouldn’t even sell him a season book.

 And Anthony Stokes. And Adam Matthews. And anyone else you can think of before the MSM come up with it.

 Celtics reserves forced a credible 1-1 draw in Liverpool last night against Evertons equivalent.

From the Everton website;

 Backed by over 100 audible fans, the visitors showed no fear and arguably deserved their first-half lead despite a lack of chances from either side.

Russell Griffiths was untroubled by on-target efforts from McMullan and O’Connell in the opening 10 minutes, but he could do nothing about the opener midway through the half.

McMullan’s corner found its way to Thomson, but his shot was blocked and Twardzik flicked in from close range. 

 Everton would have had more fans at the game, but as is customary in Liverpool before major events the police dropped job advertisements from helicopters to keep the crowds down.

 Away from Celtic for a moment, and Stewart Regan , the beleagured ( it does mean “clueless” , doesn’t it ? ) SFA chief has gone public on his fears for cash strapped Second Rangers, who have freely admitted they need more money to fulfill their seasons obligations.

“Well obviously it is concerning for the Scottish game,” Regan said. 

Perhaps what he means is that the Scottish game should be concerned that he’s doing nothing about it.

“We would all like to see Rangers improve their financial position in order to bring money to the game of football in Scotland. 

 When he says all, he actually means “all at the SFA “

“Rangers have got a strong economic impact, not just for Glasgow but for Scotland generally. 

Impact. Its what asteroids do.

“In that regard I know the fans are desperate to see success again. They are desperate for stability. 

 Aw. Bless them. He stops short here of saying he will do everything he can to help them, but we get the message.

“They’ve had a number of years of ups and downs now and I think they are hopeful they will get some certainty and stability in the future.” 

 Ups and downs ? How much further down can you go than liquidation ? How much lowerr can a club go than fleecing the fans who support them ? How much lower can they go than the mess their second, asset stripping entity has gone ?

 They could all join the SFA, I suppose.

Regan is an idiot. Backed only by those who wish the whole Rangers /Sevco scandal would go away. Neil Doncaster is an idiot as well. Backed only by etc, etc.

 Theres no sponsor for the league. There won’t be either. They are clearly not looking for one. Not until some incarnation of the Ibrox franchise finally stumbles  into the top level.

 Then they can justify their complete lack of ability by saying no-one would sponsor football in Scotland without the their beloved in the top league.

 Its about the only way they can try to justify not being sacked for gross incompetence.

 But, like the guy who has “Not Dead, Just Sleeping ” on his tombstone, they are not fooling anyone.

St. Anthony on twitter provided the picture yesterday. It was Recreation Park , Alloa , in 1982, and not , in fact, Love Street 1986.

Surprisingly.

Tell you what. A wee change today.

A caption competition;

I’ll go first

“He meant nothing by it. We’ve all got jumpers older than your wife. “