Kenny Dalglish believes that the Celtic board were behind his dismissal as Director of Football. He is planning legal action unless Celtic raise their "substantial" pay-off. Dalglish said, "I was sacked. I don't know why. I would think it's nothing to do with Martin because he's come out and said he could work with me. Chief executive Allan MacDonald didn't want me to go either." The former king has consulted a legal representative after his dismissal. He said, "We had the impression Celtic would honour their contractual obligations with Mr Dalglish. We hope we can come to an agreement."

Chris Sutton's agent will be holding talks with both Middlesbrough and Celtic to see who can offer him the best future. Sutton's agent, John Viola, is visiting Martin O'Neill first, then Bryan Robson at Middlesbrough. Both clubs have offered the £6 million asking price to Chelsea and it is up to the player which club he joins. The 27 year-old has not been able to get a place at Chelsea so it is unlikely that Celtic could get him unless he was likely to get the regular game he wants. "Chris is not swinging towards anyone yet," said Viola.

Ex-player and manager Lou Macari has advised Celtic to stand by their pledge to give Martin O'Neill full control over the football side of the club. Even if this means Kenny Dalglish leaving. Macari said, "I just think it's up to what Martin O'Neill wants to do and he should be taking guys on his terms. All these decisions are down to Martin O'Neill and what he wants and if he sees Kenny as part of his plans then he will stay."

Martin O'Neill is going to hold talks with Alan Stubbs, the unsettled defender. He wants to leave in one year after his contract runs out under the Bosman ruling. This would mean that Celtic would recieve nothing in his transfer. Martin O'Neill said that the first thing on his agenda. Stubbs signed in July 1996 for £4.5 million. The new manager must also speak to Mark Viduka who is also unsettled. However it may be too late as Viduka and his agent, Bernie Mandic, are set to going to look over a Leeds contract which would take Viduka to Elland Road for a fee in the region of £7 million. 

The Daily Record today claimed that Chris Sutton's £6m move from Chelsea to Celtic will be completed in time for pre-season training to start on Wednesday. The player has been linked to Martin O'Neill since he joined Celtic. They claim that Sutton has chosen Glasgow over Middlesbrough after he visited the area with his wife last week. The leading Scottish tabloid says that all that remains is for the Celtic board to give the go-ahead to the package on offer.

Former Celtic head coach John Barnes believes that an ''us and them'' mentality within the team undermined his position at the club. Barnes was sacked after the embarrassing 3-1 Scottish Cup defeat by Inverness at Parkhead in February where there was an alleged half-time bust-up between players and management. But the ex-England international believes that frustrations between new players and their team-mates had been ''boiling over'' for some time before the Cup shock.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill is quietly confident that his side can progress into the first round proper of the UEFA Cup. The Hoops were today paired with Luxembourg side Jeunesse Esch in the qualifying round for the competition. But while the new Parkhead chief remains optimistic, he is aware of the threat of their opponents.

Mark Viduka's agent has said that his proposed transfer to Leeds is far from a done deal. Mandic said, "It's basically one of the options that Mark is considering and it's certainly, I believe, an attractive option." If Viduka decides to leave then Celtic will have made a £4 million gain over only a couple of seasons. But I'm sure that there are many other fans who will be sad to see him go. 

The fixture list was announced today, the new year Old Firm derby has been scrapped, reports say that fans are angry.

It seems that Mark Viduka is on his way out of Parkhead subject to a medicl examination. Celtic have accepted the transfer and Viduka has agreed to join the club. Celtic will recieve £7 million for the player, a £4 million profit on his transfer fee to Celtic from Croatia Zagreb. "The thought of playing with a fellow Australian in the Premiership greatly excites me," Viduka told the Leeds United website.

Mark Viduka'a apparent transfer to Leeds is not known of by his agent Bernie Mandic. An offer of around £7 million has been accepted for Viduka by Celtic according to Leeds chairman Peter Risdale. He claims that Celtic have given them permission to discuss personal terms with the current Scottish Football Writers Player of the Year. His agent said, "I haven't spoken to Mark. He left Australia, and I am currently here in Australia."

Chelsea today confirmed that they had accepted an offer of £6 million for out out of favour striker Chris Sutton. However they have also accepted a bit from Middlesbrough for the same amount and have left it up to Sutton to choose his club. He has found it hard to settle at Chelsea after his £10 million transfer and manager Vialli has allowed him to move to te club of his choice. A Chelsea spokesman said: ''We have agreed a bid of £6m with Celtic and now it is up to the player.''

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill's could make out-of-favour Chelsea striker Chris Sutton his first signing for the club. The 27-year-old has failed to settle after his £10m move from  Blackburn and boss Gianluca Vialli will allow him to leave Stamford  Bridge. Middlesbrough have shown an interest in the player  and Chelsea agreed to sell for £6m - but O'Neill is a long-term admirer of the England striker.

Celtic may sign Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Stephen Crossley on a free transfer. Martin O'Neill has returned to Glasgow on a short visit to supervise Celtic's pre-season transfers. The Welsh International goalie commented, 'I would fancy staying in the Midlands if that was a possibility, but at the same time, if a club like Celtic were interested, I would love to take up that challenge.

Kenny Dalglish and Martin O'Neill will have a face to face talk for the first time since Martin's appointment as Celtic manager several weeks ago. They will discuss whether Dalglish will still have a job at the club during O'Neill's reign as manager. Some have suggested that the former King Kenny will be offered the role as club ambassador, which is an unusual choice considering his misdemeanors this season. It has been suggested that if Dalglish chooses to exit the club that he will invest in Blackpool, the small seaside club. He is set to receive a £750,000 pay off if he is forced to leave. 

Celtic have surprisingly registered the domain names for several Rangers stars, including Billy Dodds, Stefan Klos, Jonatan Johansson and Neil McCann. Celtic did this as a friendly gesture to Rangers while registering their own players names. But one Glasgow tabloid described this as "cheeky" and "unusual", despite it being a good natured gesture showing a friendly relationship between the clubs (even if the fans aren't!).

Mark Viduka has admitted he would be tempted by a transfer to Leeds and wants to resolve his Celtic future sooner rather than later. He said a move to Elland Road would appeal to him after receiving the lowdown from international colleague Harry Kewell. The £3million capture from Croatia Zagreb is under contract, with Celtic understood to want at least £8million for his services should he set his mind on quitting the club.

Celtic could sign Scotland international Don Hutchinson in a £2 million deal with Everton. The players agent, Rachel Anderson, has revealed that he is going to talk to Martin O'Neill this week about the potential transfer. Other interested parties are Celta Vigo and Inter Milan. Everton recently turned down his request for a £15,000 a week contract, which is well within Celtic's wage structure.