"It's not a nice time for those players, particularly in the lead-up to Christmas," said the Celtic manager.

Liam Brady, the Celtic manager, made the point that the time for cliches and excuses was past.

The Celtic manager added: "It could be a minimum four months or we could maybe get better news.

Tommy Burns was sacked as Celtic manager after the end of the season, having won just one trophy in his three years in charge.

Jan Volk, the Celtic general manager, who is a lawyer, said he found the ruling surprising.

The Celtic manager is fond of quoting statistics relating to possession, shots on target, corners et al.

He was unveiled as Celtic manager at a press conference a day later.

Gordon Strachan became only the third Celtic manager ever to win three league titles in a row.

"I think when it's not a deliberate foul they should look at the rule about a red card," said the Celtic manager.

It led me to think, 'Well, I'm not the first Celtic manager not to be told the truth'.