Agathe furious as Strachan sticks with new boys

Natasha Woods reports on the fit-again Celtic full-back who feels hard done by under the new regime at Parkhead

DIDIER Agathe’s frustrations boiled over this weekend as he admitted he couldn’t understand why Gordon Strachan was still not selecting him to start for Celtic, despite the fact he has been back at full fitness for five weeks.

The Frenchman, who has only managed 15 minutes football so far this season following a calf injury, admitted he was mystified by his continuing exclusion from the Parkhead side’s starting line-up.

“This is frustrating me because I know what I can do. A lot of people have been asking me if I am still injured, but I would like to clarify that I am not,” he said.

“I have been fit for five weeks now.

“I felt maybe, because of what I’ve done during five seasons at Celtic, he [Strachan] would take this into consideration when it comes to playing me. But it seems no.

“I have no idea whether he rates me because we haven’t had a conversation about it.”

Strachan has preferred the partnership of Paul Telfer and Shunsuke Nakamura down Celtic’s right flank, leaving Agathe to spend his time playing reserve team games at Arbroath, Airdrie and Montrose.

Agathe, signed from Hibernian by Martin O’Neill in his first season in charge at Parkhead, says he wants his future clarified sooner rather than later. His contract expires next summer and while his dream is to see out his career with Celtic, he acknowledged he would have to consider other options if no contract offer was forthcoming by January.

“I’m 30 and if you are not playing and you’re fit you have to consider your position at this moment. We have had discussions with the club, but no offers. Nothing has been accepted or rejected because there is no offer on the table.”

Agathe stressed he didn’t want to find himself in the same situation as Jackie McNamara did last season; the Celtic captain leaving amid recriminations that a suitable contract had not been forthcoming in time.

“I don’t want to be in that position because it is a difficult one. In my head I need things to be clarified before the end of my contract. I don’t want to be seen as a troublemaker, but this is my last season and you need to ask the manager why he is not picking me.”

He said he welcomed the arrival of Telfer and the competition that provided for places and he appreciated that the manager’s current selections were playing well, but he was clearly aggrieved at his limited opportunities in recent weeks.

“I will do my best to come back in the team, but the manager hasn’t played me and so I have no chance to show what I can do. For five years I have played regularly for Celtic and I feel I have demonstrated my ability over that time.

“Sometimes a manager has already made up his mind and he brings a player in and sticks with that and it doesn’t matter what you do,” he added.

Agathe’s outburst is the first public sign of dissent from a player since Strachan succeeded O’Neill in the summer.

16 October 2005

Taken from the Sunday Herald