manager: we're now 21st century bhoys

David Friel
GORDON STRACHAN has labelled Celtic’s new Lennoxtown Training Centre as a world-class 21st century facility and predicted that it will be a priceless asset for the club for years to come.

The Hoops manager helped open the state-of-the-art complex yesterday and claimed it ranks alongside the best training grounds in Britain.

“We’re proud of this centre and really pleased,” he said. “I worked at a good training ground at Southampton, which had quaintness about it. But this is 21st century stuff. It’s a fantastic facility.

“For me personally, I can wholly concentrate on football here. I loved training at Barrowfield – it was good fun and the surface is good.

“But when we were using the stadium and Barrowfield, I got involved in business and football. Here, I can easily switch off the phones and nobody can get to me business-wise. Celtic Park will now be the business centre.

“I can just deal with football here and so can the players. There won’t be any distractions for them. That’s fine for me.

“Due to the number of games we play, we now have even better facilities here to let the players recuperate. We need to make sure the players recover well – that’s what it’s all about at the moment…playing and recovering.

“We need to watch that players don’t do too much either – I’m actually telling people to get in off the training pitch these days. It’s a hard part of the season with so many games.”

The Celtic manager also admitted that the impressive complex, which sits against the stunning backdrop of the Campsie Fells, can only enhance his chances of luring top-quality players to the club.

“I’m sure this will help attract players,” he said. “When I was at Aberdeen, we used to train on the local pitches. Then I signed for Manchester United and the training facilities were fantastic.

“But the main thing that attracts players is the standard of your team and the chance to win things.

“Now we have this facility, we have to use everything in our armoury – our fans, players, stadium and the training ground – to show people that we are serious about winning things.”