PAYBACK TIME; Burns fury as Celts are KO'd.

Seething Celtic boss Tommy Burns last night slammed his stars over the cash row that has ripped the club apart.

Burns hit out after his side were bombed out of the Coca-Cola Cup by Hearts in an extra-time epic.

And he told his warring superstars to forget their pay row and start paying back the Celtic fans after the 1- 0 Tynecastle shambles.

News of the astonishing win bonus split between the players and club supremo Fergus McCann - revealed in yesterday's Daily Record - has left the Parkhead club reeling.

And Burns blasted: "I would like to apologise to Celtic supporters - they can rest assured I will sort it out and I intend to resolve the situation very quickly, although it will be done internally.

"The supporters have come through too much and backed the club too well to pick up a national newspaper and see that.

"The players would do well to remember that a lot of Celtic fans who are on the brew pay good money for season tickets. Some of them have even gone into debt to buy shares.

"I cannot say if these things had an effect, but I have no doubt some people will look at it that way."

Burns has been caught in the middle of the player revolt - putting even more strain on his already volatile relationship with McCann.

The Celtic boss was furious when McCann did not consult him before sending a memo to the top team pay rebels last weekend.

That memo was fired off after McCann REFUSED to meet a delegation of five

players for talks about the situation.

And we can today reveal that rebel group was made up of star Celts Paolo Di Canio, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Jorge Cadete, Paul McStay and Peter Grant.

The five were nominated by their Parkhead team-mates to front McCann over their grievances.

Burns is furious that the club has been plunged back into turmoil at the outset of his bid to stop Rangers winning nine-in-a-row.

And before last night's defeat, he appeared to be helping the players DODGE cuts in the new win bonus system.

McCann has slashed bonuses for subs who are left on the bench, claiming they don't deserve the full amount because they have taken no part in the game.

The players discovered the cuts in their first pay packet of the season on Friday August 23.

The next day, in a 3-1 league win at Kilmarnock, Burns sent on rookie Marc Anthony when there were just seconds remaining.

In the next two games against Alloa and Hibs the Parkhead gaffer made six substitutions.

And he threw on Simon Donnelly and Morten Wieghorst in 88 and 89 minutes at Tannadice on Saturday. Between all that came a UEFA Cup clash with Hamburg - and again the players were left seething when McCann refused to give out bonus details before the match.

They have also been outraged by another memo from McCann announcing that agents are not welcome in the Parkhead Players' Lounge AND that the players be more selective when they dish out complimentary tickets.

That came on top of a cut in comps which meant some stars had to BUY season tickets for their relatives.

It's also understood that the angry players have carried out their threat to refuse to speak to the club paper, the Celtic View, until the pay wrangle is sorted out.

Last night's defeat capped a miserable week for Celts.

And Burns admitted he was stunned at the way Hearts dug in for their victory after the Ibrox Gang of Four affair.

He said: "This is desperately disappointing - but you've got to take your hat off to Hearts. They battled very well, defended well and the night is theirs.

"They got one chance and took it. We had enough of the ball to win a dozen games and had ample opportunities to kill Hearts off but did not take them."

Taken from the Daily Record