Republic of Ireland internationalist James McLean has maintained that a move to Celtic cannot be seen as an easy swansong at the end of a career.

The 29-year-old has been linked with the club at various points in his career but he is appreciative that there is a level of expectancy demanded at Celtic.

His fellow countrymen Robbie Keane and Roy Keane moved to Celtic in the limelight of their career, but it isn't the plan McLean has in mind.

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McLean has another year on his current deal at West Brom but it has been a difficult season for both him and the club.

"I think them days are gone when players are seeing out their career and coming here for the romance," he said. "I've just turned 29, I feel great, if the opportunity comes it would be a very difficult one to turn down. I've never hidden that.

"Look, if it was up to me, I'd have been a Celtic player a long time ago. When I was leaving Sunderland, you get the rumour pages and I saw one saying Celtic's had a bid accepted for me and I remember being buzzing, as at the time it was under Paolo Di Canio and it was in my head that I was leaving anyway. This is it but absolutely nothing came of it.

"They signed Derk Boerrigter instead, look for one reason or other over the last few years, it hasn't been for the want of trying but hopefully one day."

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McLean has been sighted at Celtic Park on European nights in the crowd - something he hopes to repeat again this coming season.

"Any opportunity I get, especially the big Champions League nights, it's only up the road from Birmingham," he said. "t's five or six hours, and it is a trek back down but any opportunity. The last one was the 3-3 with Manchester City and it was a Wednesday night, I had training the next morning. I felt horrible, it's trying to time it better now but I'm sure I'll be up again on Champions League nights."