manager: football is back on the agenda

David Friel
AFTER two weeks of phone calls, meetings, introductions and various non-football commitments, Tony Mowbray finally started life as the Celtic manager when his players reported back for training on Wednesday.

The new Hoops boss has thrown himself into his new role over the past fortnight, leaving no stone unturned as he attempts to put his own, personal stamp on every aspect of an already-successful club.

Yet, while Mowbray has enjoyed meeting every single member of staff and well-wisher since taking over as Celtic boss, the real work started when he pulled on the training shirt bearing the initials ‘TM’ and walked on to the lush Lennoxtown turf.

“It feels good to have the boys back,” said the Celtic manager, as he helped launch the club’s summer coaching courses on Thursday afternoon.

“It’s felt like a long two weeks since I’ve been here. I’ve spent a lot of time speaking to other managers and different people within the club, but really it’s about footballers.

“They’ve been back a few days now and it’s great to be able to interact with them, speak to them and get a feel for things. They are all in decent shape as well.

“It’s good to work with good footballers. That’s what my job is about. The better players you have, the more it sinks in, the better the drills work and the more the team pattern comes together.

“We’ve got some good players and I’m looking forward to finding out how good we are in the coming weeks.”

Two men who were absent from the main Celtic training group on Wednesday and Thursday were Scott Brown and Stephen McManus.

Both players underwent summer operations and the manager will not rush them back to action.

He said: “First and foremost, Stephen is an impressive individual. He’s a big guy and he’s a gentleman. I’ve had a chat with him and he’s very positive about his injury, but we have to be realistic.

“Stephen will be ready when he’s ready. We won’t be rushing anyone back to play in certain games. It’s a long season ahead of us.

“I’m here to look after the players and improve them. I don’t know if Stephen will be ready for the Champions League games. If he is? Great. If not, we’ll give him every opportunity to get himself fit.

“The same goes with Scott. I’m pleased to say that he’s as quiet as ever around the dressing room! Scott’s a lively boy and he never gets down, even when he’s injured.

“He’s the life and soul of the dressing-room at the moment, but he falls into the same category as Stephen.

"He’ll be ready when he’s ready. We do want him available because you need your best players, but there is no magic wand.”