Davie Hay: Why Celtic can sell players on a move to Parkhead

The manager, or whoever sits down with a player they are keen to bring to the club, will be prepared to hear that, while their target fancies a move to join the Scottish champions, he might still have some reservations about Scottish football.

Therefore, it is the job of the club to explain why the east end of Glasgow would be right for him.

'Come to us and we will give you a platform on which you can build an entire career. You will get Champions League football and the chance to win trophies for a club whose standing and tradition in the game is second to none.'

And the caveat which comes with this offer states that if some big club, some time down the line, does come in with a massive cheque for you and, indeed, Celtic, then we won't stand in your way.

It's not a bad sell, is it? This is a far easier pitch when you can actually back it up.

There will be constant speculation about Virgil van Dijk until he either stays or he goes. That's the thing about offering someone such as the Dutchman this platform to move on if he wants. They tend to move on.

Celtic fans live in the real world and fully understand that if an offer comes in that could be described as being too good for any player, then they will consider it.

And then the club's mission is to go out there and find another gem, although that is not always easy.

From a manager's point of view, this lack of continuity is not what you would want. Any manager wants to see a team stay together for a period of time, but for Celtic these days, that is not so easy.

There is a flip side to this. In the summer, when the club speaks to players, they can point to all those who did come to Scottish football, loved their time here and then moved on when they wanted to, either to England or even maybe one of the top European leagues in the case of Van Dijk.

Celtic have to fight in the transfer market, but this remains a club people want to play for.

The Champions League is the place to be, so no wonder everyone at Celtic Park has spoken of their determination to get there next season. It means so much to so many people ... and it would help recruitment enormously.

The club has a wage structure that is sensible and understandable. I smiled when I read that Martin O'Neill twice tried to sign Alan Shearer. Imagine Celtic going in for the Barclays Premier League's top scorer now; changed days indeed.

Back then, Celtic could push the boat out and compete with most of the clubs in England. Nowadays, even if there was a case to push the boat out even an inch, it might not happen.

However, even if Celtic will always be vulnerable to bids for their players, some such as Stefan Johansen have made it clear they are happy to stick around, as is Scott Brown.

And what a performance he put in as he scored the only goal in the 1-0 win at Aberdeen.

I thoroughly enjoyed the match at Pittodrie. It was as a good a league game as I have seen in a long time, and the captain was immense.

This was Brown's type of match and his goal summed up his day. It was good enough to win any game on an afternoon when either team could have taken three points. It bodes well for next season when these two go at it again.

It reminded me of the 1980s when Celtic-Aberdeen was THE game in Scotland.

There won't be that intensity tonight at McDiarmid Park for the St Johnstone match, and I imagine Ronny Deila will rest a few players ahead of the final game at Celtic Park against Inverness Caley tomorrow week.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here