Gordon Strachan: I have no intention of leaving Celtic

Nov 30 2008 Mark Guidi

GORDON STRACHAN has hit back at the snipers who claim he doesn't have the stomach to manage Celtic and told them he has no intention of leaving the club.

The Hoops boss has taken heavy flak in the wake of his side's midweek defeat by Aalborg with some critics claiming he will throw in the towel after crashing out of Europe.

Strachan has been forced to deal with rumours about his Parkhead future since winning a first SPL title in 2006.

The pressure of living in the Old Firm goldfish bowl was said to be toomuch for him-and many thought it was the perfect time to go when he led Celtic to three-in-a-row last May.

But Strachan has never been a quitter and insists he has been dealing with pressure ever since he started out as a kid at Dundee.

So he's in no mood to walk out - especially when people think that's exactly what he will do. Sensible? Stubborn? Defiant? Call it what you like.

Strachan said: "People said after year one I'd leave. After year two. They'll say it after year four too. The people making these comments don't know me. This is a fantastic club and I enjoy working with the players and other coaches.

"I may be more relaxed now than I've ever been in this job. Winning three championships helps.

"Seriously, you can say to yourself: 'That's not so bad'.

"I'm also more realistic about the job and I'm content, I suppose. I met Dick Advocaat recently and he asked why I didn't leave after three-in-a-row.

I told him I stayed because I liked it.

"Maybe other people would have left - but they're not me. Why would I leave? What would I do?

"When you lose you don't go on a massive downer because you know at Celtic you're liable to win a few games.

"I've been through going out of Europe to Artmedia Bratislava and coming from behind to win the title.

"Yet people say I don't have the stomach for it. Not up for the fight of being manager of Celtic."

That was a reference to comments made by former Celtic star Charlie Nicholas who played in the same Scotland side as Strachan.

Nicholas is surprised the Hoops boss is still in charge and doesn't expect him to have the guts to remain gaffer for much longer.

But Strachan said: "Charlie has never been to see me at this club. He rarely sees any of our home games.

"So for somebody who doesn't know me to say I don't have the stomach for this job? I find that very interesting.

"I've had to battle all the way through my career. When I was 17 at Dundee I could have walked away because I was getting nowhere.

"I was doing the wrong things, hanging around the wrong people.

"I thought I was rotten - that's why it's funny when people say I've maybe had enough at Celtic.

"Try sitting in a bedsit when you've absolutely no money and you're jamming matches into the meter to keep the heating going.

"I was a kid, sitting freezing with no money and no food. That's part of building your character.

"When I got to Aberdeen I was rotten for my first year there. I bounced back.

"When I was at Manchester United I was told 'You're not very good any more'. But I went to Leeds and we won the championship. So yeah, I think I've got the stomach.

"But that's why I don't read the papers - because I AM sensitive.

"When I came to Celtic the idea was to cut the age of the squad, the wage bill and the deficit at the bank.

"We also wanted to win titles at the same time - so we've done fine."

Strachan was in an expansive mood when we met 48 hours after the painful 2-1 defeat in Aalborg.

There has been the expected hysterical reaction but Strachan took a step back before offering his explanation. He said: "There are 13 teams already through to the last 16.

Juventus, Liverpool, InterMilan etc, teams you would expect.

"Then there's the second group of sides such as Werder Bremen and Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit. All pay a lot of money for their players and hope to break into that mould.

"We're in the group after that.

Teams who need breaks because we don't have the money to compete.

"Two years ago we got through because we scored a one-in-a-million goal from Shunsuke Nakamura against Manchester United and Artur Boruc saved a penalty.

Breaks "If either of those things don't happen we don't go through.

"That same year we played FC Copenhagen and won 1-0 with a penalty. I gave us a six out of 10 that night. In the draw with Aalborg I gave us seven out of 10 because we created more chances but missed a penalty.

"Wealso had a good goal disallowed for offside that should have stood.

Those are the breaks either way.

"Last year we scored in the last minute in home games against Milan and Donetsk. And Milan's keeper fumbled the ball. Defining moments.

"This year we didn't get too many breaks. I hear Rangers should be beating Kaunas and we should be beating Aalborg. By the same token we shouldn't be beating Milan and Rangers shouldn't be winning in Lyon.

"Last season Walter Smith and myself agreed that - although it was great to get to the UEFA Cup Final and the Champions League last 16 - we still had a lot to do technically.

"What got us through was sheer determination, a bit of quality and some breaks.

"It's like Scotland beating France in Paris.

It was like the Alamo but something incredibly special won the game for us.

"That's what it takes to win at the top."