SIMUNOVIC STILL COMMITTED TO CELTIC

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Jozo Simunovic insists he is fully concentrated on his future with Celtic after his deadline-day transfer to Italian side Torino fell through.


Prevalent reports claimed that the Croatia international that has been plagued by injury since he arrived at Celtic last summer failed a medical with the Italian Serie A club.

The 22-year-old has however taken to social media to shed light on the rumour and put the record straight, claiming lack of agreement between the two clubs over transfer terms scuttled the move.

Celtic was keen to have Simunovic offloaded to Italy on a permanent contract, but it is believed Torino was looking for an initial loan switch with the option of signing him on a permanent basis if he impresses.

Posting on his Twitter account, the former Dinamo Zagreb central defender said:

“A lot has been said in the last few days. I prefer to talk on the field but this time I want to say something to the Celtic fans that have always supported me, and as a player that means a lot to me. Continue reading →

RONNY DEILA LINKED WITH NORWAY JOB

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Ronny Deila has been linked with the Norwegian job as the squad go on a losing spree.


They were disgraced by Germany 3-0, and were defeated by Azerbaijan 1-0. Current manager of the national team Per-Matthias Hogmo is under intense pressure from all quarters with the loses in both World Cup qualifying games.

Former Celtic coach Ronny Deila is likely the replacement as the country seeks a change in fortunes ahead of Russia 2018. Norway is poised to face San Marino at home, and the game seems to be the major decider if Hogmo is to remain. Aside Deila, former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar and Stale Solbakken are among three possible replacements if Hogmo is fired.

Deila left the Scottish side after two difficult years at Parkhead. The former Hoops manager won the Premiership two times and also lifted a League Cup but due to lack of European success, he was dismissed. A semi final loss to Rangers in the Scottish Cup contributed to his dismissal as well. He is set to take charge of Norwegian club Valerenga in the New Year. Despite his experiences, there are many obstacles hindering him from the managerial role.
Denmark international coach Age Hareide backed Solbaken, a former Wolves boss, to get the job ahead of Deila.

“Stale Solbakken has done a fantastic job with FC Copenhagen. If he wants it, Norway should take him, definitely,” Continue reading →

Rodgers pleased with Celtic win

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has stated that he is pleased with the way his team played in the Champions League play-off game.


The Scottish side managed to beat Israeli side HapoelBe’erSheva by 5-2 to give them an advantage for the return leg of the game. He said that his team played well and showed determination in order to win the game.

Celtic started the match well and opened the score early in the game through Rogic. Griffith added two goals later in the half to give Celtic a 3-0 advantage at the break. However, HapoelBe’erSheva fought back at the start of the second half and will score two goals in quick succession to put pressure back on Celtic.

However, the Scottish side was not affected by the aggressiveness and determination shown by HapoelBe’erSheva and managed to take control of the match once again. Celtic will add two more goals through Dembele and Brown to make sure of the result.
Continue reading →

RODGERS SAYS NO EMBARRASSMENT IN DEFEAT

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Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers says there is “no embarrassment” in their loss in the first leg of their game with Gibraltar part timers Lincoln Red Imps.

The game which is the first competitive one for the former Reds boss ended in a 1-0 shock defeat but the manager is staying clam even as fans rumble. The goal came from police officer Lee Casciaro in the Tuesday encounter. The goal made the record for the worst defeat for Celtic and throws they under pressure for the return leg when they meet at Celtic Park.

The Imps surprisingly had a fireman, a customs officer and a taxi driver so the fans were angry that such combinations could still defeat a professional side that lifted the Scottish League in the last campaign. Rodgers said he wasn’t shocked as these things happen in football at the time. He asked that the players, fans and supporters of the club remain calm but that they would need to put up a performance at the return leg if they are to play in the Champions League.

Celtic is set to welcome their opponents, the champions of Gibraltar when they visit Glasgow next week Wednesday for the second leg of the second qualifying round. Continue reading →

CELTIC APPOINTS AN ASSISTANT FOR RODGERS

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Celtic Football Club have appointed an assistant for also newly appointed boss in Brendan Rodgers.


The appointed assistant manager to Rodgers is Chris Davies. Davies has worked alongside Rodgers at Swansea and Liverpool and will start his new role at Parkhead on June 1 after leaving his current position as first-team coach at Reading.

The 31-year-old only joined the Royals coaching staff in January but the lure of the Scottish champions and linking up with Rodgers again has proved too strong for him.

Rodgers told the club’s official website:

 “I am delighted to bring Chris to Celtic, he is a magnificent coach and someone I know will make a hugely positive contribution to the club.

“He is ready and prepared for the challenge at Celtic and I know that Chris, like myself, can’t wait to get going next season.

“He has worked with me previously, he is someone I know and trust and he will be a great addition to my team and to the club.”  Continue reading →

Celtic struggle to get a draw against Ross County

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Celtic, who are currently 9 points clear of Aberdeen, need only one win to secure the title, but they could not find a way to score a second goal against Ross County.

Leigh Griffiths opened the score for Celtic in the 23rd minute from long range. The striker was allowed to run at the defence as the Ross County defenders back off. He tried his luck from long range and gave the lead the Celtic.


Celtic will get an occasion to score another goal when Tom Rogic received an excellent pass from Patrick Roberts. But Rogic managed to miss the target with only the goalkeeper to beat.

After that, it was the turn of Ross County to miss a glorious opportunity, but Boyce could not beat Gordon.

The match was played in a subdued atmosphere where the fans were more interested in campaigning against the board and the players. As such the game struggle to reach any sort of heights and Ross County gradually grew in confidence.

The visitors will get their reward in the 64th minute when Murdoch managed to score an excellent goal to put them level. Continue reading →

Celtic fans unhappy with Carlton Cole

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Carlton Cole faced some harsh critics by his own fans following his performance in a Mark Noble’s testimonial. Although the game was meant to be a friendly one, fans did not really appreciate the way Carlton Cole played in the match.

This reaction can be explained by the fact that Cole has yet to show any sort of brilliance for the Celtic team and that fans have become quite fed up with his performance. This can signify the end of the relationship between Carlton Cole and Celtic and he might even be tempted to move away during the summer.

His last game for Celtic came on 19th January when the Scottish side beat Hamilton 8-1. Celtic fans took to Twitter where they criticized Cole for his poor form as well as his lack of ability on the pitch.

Cole joined Celtic in 2015 and has so far made five appearances for the Scottish club. He stated that he joined Celtic in order to have more playing time and also because he wanted to win trophies. He belies that Celtic are in an excellent position to be successful and that he wanted to contribute to this success. He was previously at West Ham where he managed more than 290 appearances for the London team. He scored 68 goals in the process where he was quite a favorite player.

With the kind of criticism that the English player has received on Twitter, the chances are that he will not stay for long at Celtic. Continue reading →

Pressure is building around Celtic’s Ronny Deila

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Celtic FC is currently positioned at the top of the Scottish Premiership League but even though they are leading the way and are on their way of securing their 5th successive domestic league title, things aren’t all great for the manager of the squad, Ronny Deila who is being rumored on getting sacked if negative results arrive within the next few weeks or months.

Ronny Deila and his men have only suffered 2 losses in their opening 20 league matches which is an impressive record but even though there has only been a few slip ups, it has been enough for the rumors to emerge claiming that Deila might be on his way out of Celtic but this is mainly due to their early exit from the Europa League.

The domestic league run of Celtic FC is so far going impressively and they are the favorites of defending their Scottish Premiership title but things didn’t go so well for them in the UEFA Europa League as they were knocked out after having sustained consecutive defeats against Molde and Ajax and eventually drawing with Fenerbahce in their last Europa League match which resulted with the Scottish champions being unable to make it past the group stages.

Celtic FC is a club that has consistently been able to compete in the Champions League and even though they might not be at the same level as Europe’s biggest clubs, the Scottish outfit still show their worth in the prestigious competition and having sustained such an early exit from the UEFA Europa League is a huge surprise and it’s a disappointing thing to see as their fans watched Celtic struggle in the Europa League as they failed to win a single match and finish at the bottom of Group A with 3 points. Continue reading →

Dedryck Boyata signs for Celtic on a 4 year long contract

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DedryckBoyata is a 24 year old defender who has been signed by Celtic FC on a 4 year long contract as the Scottish offloaded €1.5 million in order to secure his services. Boyata was a former player of Manchester City as he joined the Premier League club back in 2006 but it wasn’t until 2010 when he managed to make his senior debut.

Despite making his senior debut in 2010 and having stayed with the English club for over 2 years, he never truly managed to secure a regular starting role in Manchester City and was ultimately sold to the Scottish side Celtic FC.

After making his official arrival to Celtic FC, Boyata stated that one of the reasons of why he decided to make a move to the Scottish outfit was to be able to play in the Champions League and prove how good he is at the big stage.

“Celtic is a team that wins titles so I am here to win titles and get qualified for the Champions League. The Champions League is really important for any player. In the last couple of years when City was in the Champions League I never had the chance to go on the pitch. I was getting as far as the bench. So, for me, it is really important to play in the Champions League because for any player it is the way to show the big world on TV how good you are. Continue reading →