Bother with Boyata reminds Johnson of his Celtic days when the club was just as troubled
Dedryck Boyata will return to firstteam training tomorrow after the public row with Brendan Rodgers over his fitness for the Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens in midweek. It’s unlikely the player will still be with Celtic by the time the transfer window closes, as a parting of the ways may well be the best for all concerned. Former Hoops star Tommy Johnson has kept an eye on the Boyata saga, and it has caused him to reminisce about his time at Parkhead, back in 1997, when he had just signed for £2.2m from Aston Villa. He arrived with a storm brewing at the club. Weeks later, the club lost to Falkirk in the Scottish Cup semi-final and that led the man who signed Johnson, Tommy Burns, being sacked. There was also a very public dispute between club supremo Fergus and two players, Paolo Di Canio and Jorge Cadete. Both weren’t happy with their contracts and wanted to leave, a similar situation to Boyata, who apparently took the huff when Fulham’s bid of £9m was rejected by Celts and the player missed out on
the most-lucrative deal of his career. Johnson said: “What experience in football has taught me is that there are always two sides to every story. “It’s unwise to judge, one way or another, if you are not armed with the full facts and have been privy to every conversation behind closed doors. “Clearly, there is a something not right between Dedryck Boyata and Celtic. “But the player is contracted to the club, and must always respect that. “It would be extremely disappointing if he has dipped below the expected and natural standards of a Celtic Football Club player. “This current situation has reminded me of what we had going on at Celtic more than 20 years ago. “Pierre van Hooijdonk had just left after months of wrangling, and there was still unfinished business between the club, and Paolo Di Canio and Jorge Cadete. “As a player, you tend to focus on yourself and can be a little bit selfish. “But as a dressing-room, that situation did put little bit of a dampener on the atmosphere. It wasn’t overly helpful. “I was just in the door and kept my distance from it. I just wanted to play football and enjoy my time at Celtic. “When I heard they were in for me I approached Aston Villa boss, Brian Little and begged him to let me go. “I could have stayed at Villa and signed a new contract. “But Celtic just had this pull over me. I flew up to Glasgow and met Tommy Burns. “We sat in the home dressing room at Parkhead, and talked for three hours about football. “He had me totally enthralled. At the end of it, I said: ‘Right, show me a contract and I’ll sign it’. “Then, a few weeks later he was out the door. I was gutted. It wasn’t a great time. “The dispute between Cadete, Di Canio and the club was big, big news and just wouldn’t go away. “It took until the summer to resolve and both players were sold. “I have no idea if Boyata will be sold. But it needs to settle and down and come to a conclusion one way or another. “He either signs a new deal or moves on before August 31, I would imagine. “The manager and the players will not want this dragging on any longer. Uncertainty and disharmony is disruptive. “It’s also highlighted more in this day and age because of social media and 24-hour sports news channels. “And then you have everyone online, wanting to get their opinion in. “It’s far from ideal. The focus has to be on the team and winning games of football. “The best way to do that is for everyone to be together and pulling in the same direction. “That’s what the captain, Scott Brown, will demanding in the dressing room, as there is crucial period coming up for Celtic with the Europa League play-off and an Old Firm game in the horizon. “Celtic want to keep being successful. There has been an unusual blip in the past week or two. “But they can get back on track very quickly.”