Celtic Diary Wednesday January 21 2026: The Real Work Begins

Talk of a new striker arriving seems to have put a few minds at rest, although there are still one or two who are having a moan about it.

Tomas Cavancara of Borussia Moenchebgladbach is set to join after terms were agreed. He was on a flight to Glasgow yesterday to finalise the move.

He’s the one in the jumper.

Thankfully.

You never know with our scouts.

He’s not had the best of times with the German outfit. and he hasn;t done too well on loan out in Turkey. However, he did do well with sparta Prague, so at least he hasn’t always been shite. Which is about as much as we can hope for, given our relaxed approach to player investment.

There is also talk that Motherwell forward Tawanda Maswanhise could follow him in through the door. someone has a medical booked today, and although that is probably for Cavncara , given the boards thrifty approach to paying for things, they may well have haggled for a buy one get one free on medicals.

Those two, especially the Zimbabwean from Lanarkshire, would certainly supplement our forward line and take some of the pressure off Johnny Kenny, who still gives the impression that there is a class act in there somewhere, if only he believed it.

Although there is the possibility Kenny, and probably Stephen Welsh, will be heading to fir Park as part of the deal.

Calum Osmand is still to return to the squad from injury so, fingers crossed , we might just have enough options to make a go of the rest of this season.

There is talk of defenders and even midfielders joining, but there always is. Those keyboards won’t click themselves, eh guys ?

While the manager and his crew ring around their pals and ask if they know anyone who fancies a game of football…you’ve no idea how accurate that statement is…there is the tiny distraction of a Europa League game tomorrow night.

Despite a campaign that could reasonably be described as piss poor, Celts still have a chance of making it to the knockout stages, requiring at least three, though probably four points from two remaining games to be sure. Maybe EUFA need to look at just how competitive the new set up is, but as long as the tv money keeps flowing in , they won’t.

In a sense, though, at least it keeps an interest in the tournament and cuts down on meaningless games. Unless you’re a “rangers ” supporter, of course.

The two games are against Utrecht, of the Nether;ands next week, and Bologna, of Italy , tomorrow. The Dutch side are already out of the tournament, so they may not be completely up for it, and Bologna have already qualified, so they might not be completely up for it either.

You see how easy it can be to persuade oneself we’ve got a chance…

There’s a certain irony within the context of tomorrow’s game. Bologna is famous for one particular gastronomic delight, not, as you would expect, the sauce you put on spaghetti, but a type of sausage….

That’s right. Baloney.

Coincidentally, that is a word often used in conjunction with the board at Celtic PLC, when used to describe their policies or their  statements to the support.

Another coincidence is that they have a player in their squad called Ciro Immobile, whereas we have several players of that description.

Their captain is none other than Lewis Ferguson, the Scottish midfielder who has made a name for himself in Italy, and to get away from the stigma of being related to ol’ Cap’n Baz, the man who is trying to inherit the vacancy of the voice of Alzheimers once Hugh Keevins is finally convinced no one is listening to him.

Of course, it certainly won’t be an easy game, and anything from this match will be a bonus, but maybe , just maybe, the new found spirit and enthusiasm under Martin O’Neill will see us through…

On Monday, we had this…

Today….