Comment | Read Comments (5)

Gordon Strachan

Celtic fans are undecided over the future of manager Gordon Strachan according to the president of the Affiliation of Celtic Supporters' Clubs, Peter Rafferty.

The former Saints boss was subject to some vociferous abuse during Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to Motherwell which has left the Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions seven points behind leaders Rangers, who have a game in hand.

Loud boos rang out when Strachan replaced top scorer Scott McDonald with Georgios Samaras as his side chased the one-goal deficit in the second half, the Australian striker visibly annoyed as he took his place in the dugout.

As the seconds slipped away near the end with no prospect of an equaliser on the horizon, a crude chant advising Strachan to leave the club was drowned out by other Hoops fans giving support to their team.

Rafferty said supporters are split on Strachan, with the only question being exactly what percentage want the former Aberdeen and Scotland midfielder to leave Celtic.

"There was a backlash from the fans on Saturday, there is no doubt about that and it would be silly to say otherwise," Rafferty said.

"There was a major reaction from the fans and it was down to frustration about results and substitutions.

"It's difficult to say what percentage are for and against the manager.

"Sometimes it is the vocal minority who make themselves heard but we need to see what the silent majority feel.

"They will probably make up their mind over the next few games and of course we have two Old Firm games to come.

"The strange thing is that Gordon has been successful, winning four out of six domestic trophies and taking us to the last 16 of the Champions League twice in a row.

"That all points to him being a success.

"But obviously some of the fans are unhappy and you can't say otherwise."

Fringe player Derek Riordan, who has started only three games this season, appeared to add to the current sense of malaise at Parkhead over the weekend when he criticised Strachan over his lack of game-time since arriving from Hibernian in June 2006.

However, Rafferty refused to read too much into McDonald or Riordan's behaviour.

"There would be something wrong if a player was happy when he was substituted," he said.

"And you find that players on the periphery of every club have a moan.

"Riordan hasn't been given as much a chance as the fans thought he might have been given but it's up to players what they say and when they say it."

8:17am Tuesday 8th April 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login