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Scottish Premier League Update

Ali Hannah on the latest from the Scottish Premier League, June 2007

Celtic | Scotland | Rangers

Celtic Roundup

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Gordon Strachan has not spent his summer sipping a cocktail on a quiet beach but has instead been busy trying to ensure that Celtic stay ahead of the pack next season.

The Hoops manager barely had time to enjoy the success of the SPL title and Scottish Cup when he was back in his office preparing for the campaign that lies in wait, yet frustratingly for Celtic rumours continue to dog the future of Shunsuke Nakamura.

The Japanese playmaker was rumoured to be keen to secure a move away from Glasgow, preferably to Spain and, not for the first time, the Parkhead club were forced to deny that the double Player of the Year has his sights set on playing elsewhere.

Suggestions that Nakamura has a £1m buy out clause were scorned by Celtic while the official agent of the player dismissed the rumours. Roberto Takuda has supported the club's firm denial of claims the 29-year-old Japanese star is unhappy. "These reports about Naka are complete nonsense,” he said. “He is currently preparing for the Asian Cup. But, straight after this, he is very much looking forward to returning to Celtic.

"He and his family are very happy at Celtic and very happy in Glasgow. He has no reason to go anywhere else."

Meanwhile, Celtic fans are excited about the addition of Serie A star Massimo Donati - and hope he will be the new Paolo Di Canio. The 26-year-old joins Chris Killen, Scott Brown and Scott McDonald as the Hoops aim for a third consecutive title and the acquisition of Donati is the signing which captures the imagination of the Parkhead faithful.

The last Italian to have a major impact in the east end of Glasgow was the popular and controversial Di Canio, who earned cult status back in season 1996-97. And, according to Peter Rafferty - President of the Affiliation of Celtic Supporters' Clubs - if Donati is half as successful, he will have been worth every penny of the £3m Celtic paid AC Milan.

He said: "Di Canio was a big player for Celtic and the supporters loved him because of his attitude, his passion and the way he played football. You were never quite sure what was going to happen when he had the ball.

"He put bums on seats and he was a real fans' favourite. If Donati does as well as Di Canio did, it will be a real bonus for Celtic and can only be a good thing for the club.

"He is a quality player and it can only be good for Scottish football, as well as Celtic, that he has chosen to come here.

"It gives recognition to the fact that Scotland has a club capable of competing at the highest level in Europe."

Meanwhile, Neil Lennon will ply his trade with Nottingham Forest next season after deciding to walk away from Parkhead and the midfielder has admitted that he was gutted to be subbed by Strachan in his final game.

Lennon was taken off in the Tennent's Scottish Cup win over Dunfermline last month and stormed down the tunnel as soon as he was replaced. "I must admit I was disappointed with the substitution,” he said. “I would be lying if I said anything else.

"The match was on the screen in the dressing room so I decided to sit and watch it for a few minutes, just while I cooled down a bit.

"It wasn't as if I was raging, or running about the dressing room kicking things around. I was just sad. Gutted in fact. I was just trying to work out why he did it.

"I just couldn't understand his decision. It wasn't anything to do with the fact this was my last game. The whole 'Neil Lennon Cup Final' didn't wash with me in the first place. I didn't call it that - I've always been a team player - and I felt uncomfortable with it.

"All I wanted was to win the Cup and go out with a double and I simply didn't understand why it was my number that came up."

Lennon insists there are no lingering bad feelings with Strachan, adding: "I've heard people say it looked like a spiteful decision but I don't agree with that for a minute. I don't think Gordon is like that. Not one little bit.

"He makes decisions he thinks are in the best interests of the team. It's all about how he sees it. Whether the players like it or not has nothing to do with it."

Rangers

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Walter Smith needs no reminder of just how major a job he has on his hands if he is to bridge the gap between Rangers and Old Firm rivals Celtic this season, and as such the Ibrox manager has been busy in the transfer market throughout the close season.

DaMarcus Beasley became their fifth summer signing after confirming his arrival from PSV Eindhoven on a three-year deal and big things are expected of the USA international in the SPL.

The winger, who already has more than 60 caps for his country, had a loan spell at Manchester City last season where he failed to make much of an impact but it is anticipated that he will be up to the challenge of the SPL and Smith is confident that the 25-year-old will prove to be a valuable asset to his squad in the coming months. He said: "He's a player who plays in the wider areas of the pitch. Last season I felt we were a little bit short of pace in our team and he is very quick.

"For a player in his mid-20s, he is a very experienced player.

"He has experienced European football at PSV and had a spell on loan at Manchester City last season so he has also experienced British football and enjoyed that.

"He has almost 70 caps for the United States at the present moment so he is an experienced international player as well.”

Rangers have also completed the signing of keeper Graeme Smith from Kilmarnock but Swedish defender Karl Svensson has left the club to join Caen in France.

The 24-year-old Smith joins on a free transfer and will provide the main competition for number one Allan McGregor following Stefan Klos' retirement.

The tussle for Killie's Steven Naismith, however, continues with both halves of the Old Firm interested in the 20-year-old. Rangers have had two bids knocked back for the player but are expected to go back to the Rugby Park side with an increased offer.

Naismith, the SPFA Young Player of the Year, was a boyhood Rangers fan but has already made it clear that if he moves anywhere he will be expecting to play regularly rather than sit on the bench and avoid the kind of scenario that Derek Riordan found himself in at Parkhead last season.

"I don't want to go to a team where I'm not going to play every week," he said.

"I've done well in the last two years to play the number of games that I have and it would be a step back if I was to go to a team where I would be sitting on the bench or not even involved.

"I believe in my ability and, no matter what the team, if I go there, I'm thinking that I'll be able to play every week.

"If I'm good enough in training, I would expect to be playing every week. I'm not going to sit here and say 'I want to move to Rangers' or 'I want to move to Celtic' because that's not the case. The move needs to be right for me and everybody around me."

Scotland

Scotland manager Alex McLeish reckons the time is right for Craig Beattie to quit Celtic after failing to hold down a regular first-team place in Gordon Strachan's side.

The 23-year-old is all set to sign for Tony Mowbray's West Brom in a deal that will rake in £1.75m for Strachan – money that will immediately be spent this summer – and McLeish believes it is the best thing he could do if he hopes to further his international prospects.

Beattie currently has four caps and as Scotland push to qualify for next summers European Championships, he is eager to add to his tally.

With Scott McDonald and Chris Killen turning up for pre-season training at Parkhead as well as the competition Jan Venegoor of Hesselink, Kenny Miller and Maciej Zurwaski provide, there was something inevitable about Beattie's decision to move on.

Said McLeish: "I think Craig has got to go and show he can play consistently over a season. If the Championship is where he is heading, there are a lot of teams there who could compete in the SPL.

"It is a good standard and I don't think there is any doubt it will benefit him, especially if he's playing regular football. Craig has shown a goalscoring touch. He's come on in games for Celtic and scored from nothing, but, when you expect him to, he's not quite managed to notch, which shows unpredictability in his game.

"I'm sure he will now tell you he wants consistency in terms of his playing and in the games themselves."

While McLeish is encouraging Beattie to call time on his Celtic career, he believes joining the Parkhead club will make Scott Brown a better player - and also feels the same about Lee McCulloch moving to Old Firm rivals Rangers.

Celtic beat off competition form Rangers to land Brown from Hibs in a £4.4m deal, and Walter Smith is in the process of completing McCulloch's £2m switch from Wigan.

And McLeish insists he will benefit when those players report for international duty.

He said: "It's been really encouraging to see the breakthrough of these kids and there are now high expectations on them because of their transfer fees.

"Scott Brown has gone to one of the biggest clubs in the world, in Celtic, and Lee McCulloch is coming to one of the biggest clubs in the world, in Rangers.

"It's done the Scottish international team no harm to see these boys coming through, because they come through with confidence.

"They have a price tag and that must give them belief that they must be pretty good after all."

McLeish is delighted Scottish clubs are now showing their faith in homegrown talent rather than going down the foreign route.

He added: "There are a lot of players coming through from the SPL clubs who maybe five, six, 10 years ago wouldn't have got first-team football. It's a breath of fresh air that the chairmen are relying on youth set-ups to rear the kids to come through."

He is also pleased to see Garry O'Connor return to Britain after joining Premiership newcomers Birmingham City in a £2.65m move from Lokomotiv Moscow. McLeish said: "I think he can make an impact. He's two-footed, good in the air and mobile, so I don't see why not.

"It may depend on where Birmingham play him. A lot of the managers have been going for a 4-5-1 system and I'm sure he can play up top on his own if need be, as long as he is getting service from some part of the team. I think he is now showing more awareness about the whole game and team-mates.

"There were a couple of times during the Austria friendly when Barry Ferguson got caught forward and we had to give Garry a bit of a gee-up to get back and fill in.

"But these were things he did naturally in the game against the Faroes. When you talk about good players, they only have to be told things once."