The word on the street is that the players are enjoying training, and everybodys happy…..

Or, as STV put it…

Charlie Mulgrew hopes for

a settled position under Ronny Deila

Its going to get worse….still, I can’t wait to see how those hilarious chaps at “Only An Excuse ” give us their take on the subliminal gay jokes. With their reservoir of writing and acting talent theres optimism that this years show could be the best ever. Optimism, not confidence. Well, not really optimism, to be honest.

Back to Charlie Mulgrew, who , perhaps more than most , may be worried about his first team prospects..

When he was asked how things were coming along under Deila ( enoughs enough -ed ), Mulgrew said:

“It’s been good, it’s been very organised. The training has been good and he’s trying to get his ideas across but it’s been positive. Everybody has responded well.

“We’ve had a wee chat but I’m not going to go into too much detail about the talk we had. We had a good discussion and it was very positive.

“He let me know where I am and I’m looking forward to working with him.

“I’ve said many a time that I’m happy to play wherever the manager needs me.

“It would be nice to be settled somewhere, no matter where that is that would be nice but if the manager needs me to play in a different position at any given time then I’m willing to do that for him.” 

Sounds like he’s been told he’s going to be first reserve…

He also had time to wish previous boss Neil Lennon all the best;

“I’ve not seen the old gaffer. It came as a shock to me – I didn’t see it coming.

“But I’m sure he made the right decision for himself and I wish him all the best. I’ll always be thankful for him bringing me here.

“He was a great manager who did well for the club.” 

 Well, that came from the heart.

 The Express reckon that Sevilla are about to gazump Arsenal and Manchester City in the race to sign Virgil van Dijk this summer. Alright, its not exactly a race, and its pretty much the press who have got the contenders up to the starting line, but with a World Cup on, its players who make a name for themselves over theses few weeks that will fetch the most attention.

 Which is never the best way to do business, but it seems to be the norm. Remember Oleg Salenko ? One good game got him a dream move to a big European club, and when that fell through, he went to Rangers.

£6m is the figure quoted for van Dijk, which the Express says Celtic will be unable to turn down. Which shows how much they know. Another years experience will see van Dijk into the five figure league, if he’s not there already, so Lawwell is unlikely to sell at that price.

 And the Daily Record Hotline, still auditioning for a reporter to replace Hugh Keevins, also gives the impression that he’s definitely away…

First up was James Milne, Wishaw , who said; “I think Celtic should start the bidding for van Dijk at £10million. That should ward off any potential buyers for now. Celtic can’t keep parting with their best players. If we do we should command top dollar.”

Paul Price, East Belfast, said: “If Peter Lawwell thinks Celtic are going to make any inroads in the Champions League with the current squad he has another think coming. We need players and fast.”

John McGuigan, Blantyre, said: “Van Dijk is working his ticket and is getting his agents to try and get him a new club after he was exposed for his off-the-park activities.

“The Dutchman should have the same price put on his head as Victor Wanyama and then we will see what clubs are serious about doing business.”

Steve James, Musselburgh, said: “Van Dijk strolled through Scottish football last season and probably wants a bigger challenge than Celtic can offer.

“However I would like to remind van Dijk he didn’t exactly set the heather on fire in the Champions League last season when Celtic drew the likes of his countrymen Ajax who were there for the taking.

“But I’d slap a multi-million pound price tag on him because if he does leave Celtic should get plenty.” 

You getb the feeling that all these callers rang up to say something else, like ” I’m cancelling my subscription ” but were railroaded into giving their thoughts on van Dijk instead…

 Wee Jay Beatty, the lad who has attracted headlines, and an offer to go and see Greece face Costa Rica tomorrow night won’t be heading to Brazil after all.

 He has sent a video message to his hero Georgios Samaras, thanking him for the one the big Greek sent to him. In it, he says..

 “Thanks Sammy I hope you win the World Cup. I am sorry I won’t be there, but I still love you very much and I hope you win. Come on Sammy!”.

Jays dad, Martin, explained;

“Thanks everyone for all your lovely messages. This morning we got a call with a fantastic offer for us all to go to the World Cup to see the Greece game and Jays hero Samaras. Unfortunately we were actually at the airport heading off on our family holiday when we got the call, so naturally we were unable to take up the offer and are so gutted but truly grateful that people would do this for Jay. We cannot believe that this has happened and are so humbled and would like to wish Greece all the best in the World Cup. Jay has just seen Samaras press statement and wanted to send one back. Thank you everyone.” 

 Which is probably best for everyone… the wee fellow doesn’t need the worlds press following him around.

Samaras himself is still the subject of interest from Everton, the default club when reporters need to link a player with a move when there isn’t anything else to say. If the stories about Everton are to be believed, they could end up with Forrest, Samaras and McGeady as their front three next year, which should guarantee them a spot in the second division, with the least shots on target in the history of football, but setting  a new record for running with the ball in no particular direction. Mind you, if the reports coming from the training ground are to be believed, then Forrest and Samaras, if we decide to cash in on his popularity, could actually become great players with guidance from  Deila and Collins.

 Samaras will be preparing for tomorrows game, and as the English pundits used to say, this is where the real World Cup starts, when all the diddy teams have been knocked out. Of course, they won’t be saying that this week, although there will be a theme running through  the studio discussions-and no doubt during the commentary as well-of “how many England would have beaten this mob by ” , despite the English failing to beat anyone, and their best result in the tournament came when they didn’t actually score any goals.

 Today , Brazil face Chile, and Colombia face Uruguay. The lack of European teams left at this stage shows that England weren’t the only ones to forget to adjust there body clocks…

 The hosts are struggling a wee bit at the back, and Chile play a pressing game which may well rattle the Brazilians. If you are a betting man, bearing in mind the honest mistakes thus far, perhaps it would be worth putting a sixpence on a high yellow card count for the Chileans. Say around 40.

 In the other game, Colombia will be favourites now that Luis Suarez has been sent home in disgrace. He was banned for four months from all stadia, and has blamed the English speaking media for the length and severity of the ban. Perhaps it might be worth betting on him never setting foot on Merseyside again as well, except to collect his belongings.

 Although I wouldn’t want to be living in the Liverpool area and have everyone know I wasn’t home, so maybe he won’t have much stuff to pick up.

 Colombia should rack up a cricket score against Uruguay, but again, look for a high crime count.

 Don’t worry about the evils of gambling. Some say it can ruin lives, but since I started doing it, it has, if anything brought my family closer together.

 Especially now we have had to move to a one bedroom flat above a shop.

 Meanwhile, theres a massive fanfare accompanying new club Second Rangers, and their latest signing, and yet, they seem to be missing the point in the media.

 As usual..

 Boyd reckons he has unfinished business at Rangers, but no-one has had the heart to tell him they are dead, a bit like when you tell the kids the dog has run off , I suppose.

 Wonder if that unfinished business concerns a bit of a loan he had there a while back, but of course, its a different club, so it can’t be.

 Unless the taxman thinks that the new club has been pretending to be the old one……because, lets be honest, they have fooled quite a few people with that one…

 By the time Hector  gets round to investigating any  allegations of trading on the back of a liquidated companys name , the players will probably all be back there anyway, as Ally McCoist works his way through his phone contacts. He’s just finished with the letter B ( Bawheid and Boyd ), and will work through the letter C this weekend, so expect an offer to be made for Nacho Novo.

We published a picture of Tony Cascarino yesterday, wo was sent back down south in return for Tommy boyd, a moment that could be described as the dawn of a new era at Celtic, when the rebuilding got some foundations put in.

Today, heres a familiar face with some unfamiliar hair…who is he ?