Loovens Aint First Choice

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What a fanny strachan is

GORDON STRACHAN last night told £2.5million defender Glenn Loovens that he can't expect to walk straight into the Celtic first team against Dundee United.

The Cardiff centre-back snubbed Rangers to sign for the Parkhead outfit but will have to bide his time to dislodge Strachan's central defensive partnership of captain Stephen McManus and Gary Caldwell.

The Celtic boss is delighted to have landed the Dutchman in the face of such strong competition from across the city - but will keep faith in the men in possession of the jerseys. He said: "It's very simplistic to say he's coming in to take the place of one of the guys in possession.

"I signed a guy for Coventry called Viorel Moldovan for £3.5m about 10 years ago and he couldn't get a game for Darren Huckerby and Dion Dublin."

Strachan thinks highly enough of McManus to give him the armband and yesterday he heaped praise on the other half of the central defensive partnership.

He added: "I am very surprised that Gary is not everybody's favourite. Without doubt, since March when the pressure was on - the real pressure was on - he was our best player.

"There is absolutely no doubt about it. We can all play when it's easy. We can all play when the sun is shining and we are 3-0 up, but Gary Caldwell was the man who played when it mattered.

"When he went to right-back I told him I would never judge him as a right-back. He was doing us a favour when we had no right backs and were all over the place.

"I look at players' attitudes when they change position - it's too much for some of them, some feel sorry for themselves and some don't want to do it. Gary did it without feeling sorry for himself.

"I think even the crowd are now saying what a good player he is.

"But we are delighted to have Loovens. We are short in the centre-back department and you need four centre-halves. He's been on the radar for a wee while.

"It's about getting people who really want to come here. That's a huge thing to start with and that's what he wanted to do."

The Dutchman is a ball-playing centre-half and Strachan wouldn't have gone for him if he wasn't.

The manager said: "I think it is imperative that everybody wants to pass the ball. If you don't, it breaks the flow of your passing movement or you give the ball away when you are defending.

"I'm trying to get together a team where everybody can handle passing the ball."

Celtic return to the scene of their title triumph in May tomorrow and Shunsuke Nakamura may make his first appearance of the season, while Barry Robson is struggling, having had a virus in midweek and is suffering from badly blistered feet.

Strachan said: "The sheer joy in the players that night will live a long time with me."

Strachan also revealed he has drawn a line under last Sunday night's incident in Glasgow city centre when a number of players were involved in trouble outside a night club.

The manager said: "I have taken everything into account and I have spoken to the players. They know what we expect."