{"id":11590,"date":"2017-06-14T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T09:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=11590"},"modified":"2017-06-14T10:00:30","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T09:00:30","slug":"celtic-diary-wednesday-june-14-more-changes-and-an-open-message-to-regan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=11590","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Wednesday June 14: More Changes And An Open Message to Regan"},"content":{"rendered":"

He’s going to be busy reading all these open letters and words of advice that have been sent his way of late.<\/p>\n

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I’ll keep mine simple.<\/p>\n

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With a picture.<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/p>\n

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And now, back to the ranch….<\/p>\n

For those of you desperate to see Johnny Hayes in the hoops, Cardiff boss Neil Warnock says his club are no longer interested in signing the winger.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can only wait for so long and you’ve got to move on,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAberdeen want two players from Celtic and they’ve been messing us around for quite a few weeks now. And it wouldn’t surprise me if their manager Derek McInnes goes to Sunderland either – there might be other motives behind everything stalling.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve moved on and gone on to another one or two targets that haven’t been mentioned yet,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Which means he is, but Hayes and Aberdeen should stop messing him about.<\/p>\n

Its not really the fault of Aberdeen, as their manager Derek McInnes is looking at the Sunderland job, leaving the way clear for major change at Aberdeen, such as the introduction of laughter, ambition and the possibility of taking points off “rangers “.<\/p>\n

Some have claimed that the Dons will now slide below second place, but to be honest, McInnes was not the man to lift them to the next level.<\/p>\n

Alex Neil and Alex McLeish must be favourites to take over, but Tommy Wright would be the obvious choice if Aberdeen are ready to move up a level.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the new contract for Brendan Rodgers has meant he won’t be linked with any jobs down south for a while, which has upset a number of hacks, who must now concentrate on touting players who don’t want to leave Celtic either.<\/p>\n

They do this on a number of levels.<\/p>\n

One is to constantly link Celtic with their replacements.<\/p>\n

Some are quite ridiculous…<\/p>\n

George Boyd of Burnley is one, but as we saw last season, no matter how well you perform at Turf moor, its a big step up to the Scottish league…<\/p>\n

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No doubt Boyd is mentioned as a replacement for Griffiths, who is wanted down south, but the Scotland sensation doesn’t want to go anywhere.<\/p>\n

Incredibly, Griffiths is just fifteen goals short of joining the hundred club after only 143 appearances in the hoops, and if he stays is certain to have his name among the all time greats.<\/p>\n

He’d be happy with that.<\/p>\n

With strikers such as Louis Moult and Liam Boyce probably on the move this summer, if the manager is looking for back up then he doesn’t need to look far.<\/p>\n

Both of these with the correct coaching could become class acts.<\/p>\n

Another mentioned is Jean Kevin Duverne, a young defender with Lens in the French second tier. He was born on the 12th of July in 1997, but as we don’t worry about that sort of thing he should be okay.<\/p>\n

Again though, if its in the papers, the rule of thumb is that its probably bollocks.<\/p>\n

Next monday is the first major date in next seasons calendar with the draw for the opening rounds of the Champions League qualifiers.<\/p>\n

Without going into too much detail, the repetitive nature of the games at this stage of the tournament mean Celtic will probably face Linfield, Dundalk, or Vikingur of the Faroe Islands.<\/p>\n

There is no chance of a trip to Iceland this time round as their champions , Hafnarsomething or other are seeded.<\/p>\n

Belfast on the 12th of July is more likely than not… although should Celtic face Linfield, it would be infinitely preferable to play in Belfast for the first leg (12th ) than the second…<\/p>\n

Glasgow Rangers will be in Northern Ireland this summer and will play friendly matches against Ards and Portadown.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n

First up, a Rangers XI will take to the pitch at the Bangor Fuels Arena to face Ards on Tuesday July 18 (kick-off 7.30pm).<\/em><\/p>\n

We could all have a singalong on the ferry.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

The players may be on a break, but with the draw coming round so soon, they’ll have to switch back on pretty quickly.<\/p>\n

Some however, don’t seem to have switched off….<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know what it\u2019s like now, with six games to reach the Champions League,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the way it is in Scotland and we just have to knuckle down and get on with it.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the mindset you need to have as a footballer. If you want to be at the top of your profession, you don\u2019t get much rest.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI had four days away after the Cup Final and I now have ten days off to recharge the batteries. But even during that time I\u2019ll still be working to make sure I\u2019m sharp for pre-season.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Keiran Tierney telling it like it is.<\/p>\n

And he was backed up by Craig Gordon…<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will try and train the best we can to cope with it and we have to be ready for the first part of the season because they are the most important games of our entire year.<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cWe need to make sure we are in the right frame of mind and I am sure that the manager will ensure that we are.<\/em>\u201cThey are massive games because of what is at stake.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cThe group stages of the Champions League have certainly been among the highlights of my career because of the magnitude of the occasion.<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cIt is a competition every player wants to have the chance to experience.<\/em>\u201cThere is another aspect, too, for the club in that there are financial rewards to be gained, but for us as players it is about the chance to play against the very best again.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cThe supporters love those nights, we as players love them and it is really about making sure we are in that environment again.<\/em>\u201cSo, there isn\u2019t much downtime or too much time to reflect on winning the treble or playing against England. But that is football sometimes.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cWe would far rather be in this position than not, so I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll hear too many complaints.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
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Straining at the leash ?<\/div>\n
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Not quite, but certainly focussed.It wasn;t a great campaign last year, sure it had its moments, but when all is said and done it was disappointing not to be involved after christmas.<\/div>\n
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I think we can all be a little more optimistic for this season, the team are gelling nicely, confidence is high and surely we are due a good draw ?<\/div>\n
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With Rodgers unlikely to bring players in for the sake of it, there’s little chance also of us having a Jo inge Berget moment like a couple of years ago. Celtic will only sign quality from now on, which will improve the team, and not just numbers to make up the squad.<\/div>\n
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Which will always end in disappointment..<\/div>\n
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Over the river, the rebuilding continues, and quite a few amongst the hordes are convinced that this is the start of something…<\/div>\n
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Ibrox Views<\/strong>\u200f\u00a0<\/span><\/span>@IbroxViews<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
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