Jul 26 2008
Strachan: “You’ll Never Play For Celtic Again”
GORDON STRACHAN has told Danish flop Thomas Gravesen he’ll never play for Celtic again.
The midfielder, who spent last season on loan at Everton, was left behind when the rest of the Parkhead squad travelled to Portugal on their preseason trip.
And if Gravesen was harbouring hopes of resurrecting his career in Glasgow he has been left in no doubt he’ll never wear the Hoops again
Boss Strachan said: “I spoke to Thomas and told him he won’t play for us because of the system we play. We tried our best to get a system which suited Thomas and it hasn’t worked. It was the system to blame, not the player or the club. Thomas finds it difficult to fit into our system and he’ll tell you that himself.
“He’d rather play in a system that suits him and we can’t change our style of play to suit one player.”
Strachan says the 32-year-old, signed from Real Madrid in a blaze of glory, has taken the fact he’s turning into a highly-paid misfit in his stride.
And the bruising to his pride will be soothed by the £40,000 a week Gravesen still gets paid even though he’s of no use to his employers.
Strachan added: “Thomas has been good about it and understands the situation. It’s a football thing and not a personal issue.
“I’m not worried one way or the other about how it pans out because Thomas will still get treated properly for as long as he stays here.”
The position regarding Derek Riordan, who slaughtered Strachan’s man-management in public last season, is more pointed. It’s highly unlikely that Riordan will ever play for Celtic again either and will be invited to go elsewhere any time he likes. Strachan said: “Derek wants to go away and try somewhere else and we’re not going to stop him. But we can’t just let him walk out the door.”
Celtic value Riordan at around £1 million and rejected a £400,00 bid from Burnley earlier in the close-season.
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