Celtic Finish Out With Win

But Luque Scores Two In Defeat At St. James' Park

By Tony Quinn

Albert Luque scored twice as Newcastle ran out in the 4-1 friendly against Celtic at St. James' Park last week. Luque struck twice in the first-half after Obafemi Martins gave Newcastle an early lead. New signing Scott Brown pulled a goal back for the champions in the second half. But James Milner's late strike restored the Magpies' three-goal advantage.

After the game Gordon Strachan refused to be downhearted and he was not unduly concerned by another poor pre-season result. He said: "You never know - in pre-season sometimes you have some great results and you think you are ready for it, and you get disappointed during the season; sometimes you get some horrendous results and the season becomes all right, so you never know at this time. You really only gauge your emotions at the end of the season, and they are real ones at the end whether you are happy or not. It's usually up and down as a manager for the whole of the season, but you just gauge at the end of the season how well you have done."

Things did get better for the Bhoys as they finished their pre-season with a 1-0 win over Parma at Parkhead on Sunday. And an 84th-minute goal by Aiden McGeady, after he had sent a free-kick crashing off the cross bar minutes earlier, was enough to give the Hoops victory.

It looks like Celtic will be without three players when they kick off the new season against Kilmarnock on Sunday. Goalkeeper Artur Boruc will be missing for up to three weeks with a shoulder injury, Shunsuke Nakamura was involved in the Asian Cup this summer and will not report back until Friday and Scott McDonald is suspended for two games.

Gordon Strachan has weighed in on the debate regarding Celtic's EPL aspirations. Strachan said an expansion of the current Champions League set-up was a more likely route for Scotland's two biggest clubs. "I think there's a better chance of European leagues, before you find Celtic and Rangers going in to an English league," he said. "There might be two or three leagues - this is just my idea - but you might get the top 50 clubs saying 'right, that's enough, let's all make the cash, we'll break away, make our own league, and Uefa and Fifa can do what they want'."

Barcelona have revealed that Celtic are one of the clubs hoping to sign Santiago Ezquerro. Celtic have enquired about the availability of the striker. Ezquerro, who has failed to establish himself at the Nou Camp since he made a free-transfer switch from Athletic Bilbao in 2005, has made no secret of the fact he feels he may have to move on in order to get his career back on track. Ezquerro has stated he would be keen on a move to Britain and Barca's director of football Txiki Beguiristain says all parties are working towards a solution.

Paris St Germain coach Paul Le Guen has refused to confirm that Celtic have made an approach for Bernard Mendy. Speaking in London ahead of his new side's appearance in the Emirates Cup, the former Rangers manager was coy when asked if Celtic had made initial moves to clinch Mendy's signature. "We are very happy that Bernard Mendy is still with us," was all Le Guen would say. The former Bolton defender has confirmed he would be interested in a move to Parkhead. He said: "Celtic are a great club and I would certainly consider the option of a move. The possibility of playing in the Champions League again is extremely attractive. I like British football and I enjoyed my spell on loan at Bolton in season 2002-03. That was a great experience for me. However, at this stage, I have not been informed of any official offer from Celtic."

West Brom boss Tony Mowbray has been linked with a move for Derek Riordan - just weeks after convincing Craig Beattie to leave Parkhead. Norwich had been linked with a move for 24-year-old Riordan for most of the summer, but boss Peter Grant recently admitted he didn't know where the former Hibs man should be played and decided he wouldn't fit into his side at Carrow Road. Riordan made just a handful of appearances last season after moving from Easter Road in June last year. He only started six league matches, and was rarely given the chance to play in the position that allowed him to score more than a goal every two starts for Hibs. Although he impressed with a left-foot strike against Chicago Fire during Celtic's tour of the U.S., Riordan was then made to play for a Celtic XI against Airdrie during the week - in a side that contained players not expected to see much first-team action during the upcoming season.

According to reports Gordon Strachan has secured a pay rise for his work in steering the Hoops to two-in-a-row and the last 16 of the Champions League. Strachan remains on a 12-month rolling Parkhead contract, but has been given improved terms after the double of last season. Celtic moved to reward the 50-year-old boss as recognition for his work at the club and also to ward off the threat of Premiership outfits. Strachan's success in re-building the Celtic side after the Martin O'Neill era had not gone unnoticed in boardrooms down south, but his willingness to agree a new deal shows that he intends to remain at Parkhead for the immediate future.

Former Celtic goalkeeper Jonathan Gould will coach a New Zealand Invitational eleven in two 'Football for Hope' matches against Fiji next month to raise money for tsunami victims in the Solomon Islands. The matches launch the Oceania chapter of FIFA's 'Football for Hope' movement to fund a number of community projects in the Pacific. FIFA has donated $131,000 to stage the matches and the Oceania Football Confederation will meet all of New Zealand Football's costs. All revenue from the games will go towards helping Tsunami victims in Gizo, in the Solomon Islands.