Celtic have opened contract renewal talks with first-team coach Gavin Strachan.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim a Celtic source has revealed that Ange Postecoglou’s side have opened talks with the first-team coach regarding the extension of his current deal at Parkhead.

The report goes on to state that the 43-year-old is highly regarded by the Bhoys hierarchy, and is being rewarded for his role in the Hoops’ transformation under the leadership of the Greek-Australian head coach this season.

Finally, it is said that the negotiations between the coach and the club are already well underway, with it being hoped by both parties that an agreement can be reached in the near future.

Postecoglou will be buzzing

With Strachan having started to attract interest from clubs looking for a new manager – such as League Two side Hartlepool United, who approached the 43-year-old in November of last year – the news that the first team coach looks set to remain at Parkhead for the foreseeable is sure to have left Postecoglou buzzing.

Indeed, the Daily Record previously reported that Strachan has “been hailed by Postecoglou for the key role he has played behind the scenes” at Lennoxtown, as well as it being stated that the “highly-rated” Scotsman has proven himself to be “an integral part of Postecoglou’s backroom team.”

The 56-year-old Bhoys boss has also joked about the former Peterborough United and Doncaster Rovers assistant manager’s reputation of a “laptop coach” – stating about Strachan and his hardware, which featured in Celtic’s Christmas advert, earlier this season:

“I’m not surprised he’s taken star billing. It’s a very important part of our setup here, and that’s all I’ll say about it!”

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However, all joking aside, considering the remarkable job Postecoglou and his backroom staff have done in turning Celtic’s extremely disappointing 2020/21 campaign into what could well be a domestic treble-winning season this time around, it is clear the 43-year-old has well and truly earned a new deal at Parkhead – with his impending extension undoubtedly being good news for the club.

AND in other news: Postecoglou drops huge behind the scenes update, it’s great news for Celtic

Jose Mourinho leaves Inter Milan with the parting gift of a treble but that is unlikely to assuage the anger of the Milanese fans that have had to sit and watch the best manager in world leave them for Real Madrid.

The Special One is not a manager to baulk at a challenge and, despite the embarrassment of riches he has inherited in the playing department, coaching Madrid will be a gargantuan task. No longer does their stature demand being in control of the league and producing an excellent showing in Europe. For the last 6 years they have not managed to get past the last 16 in the Champions League, a statistic that they will hope to end with Mourinho’s arrival. Taking them further is one thing; overhauling their recent decline is another.

For Mourinho Madrid is almost the perfect destination. A man that works so well in an environment of siege mentality enters a club desperate for success and bowed by the brilliance of their bitterest rivals. To achieve success in a normal context would mean greatness; to conjure success out of Madrid’s current situation would mean immortality.

The translator turned coach may find it more difficult than anticipated. Cristiano Ronaldo will hope to continue at the height of his powers after the World Cup, along with the burgeoning genius of Gonzalo Higuain. But they may not be joined by some of Madrid’s recent acquisitions. There seems to be simply no place at the Bernabeu for Karim Benzama and Mourinho must invest in a reliable support striker to secure Madrid’s attacking options.

Moreover in midfield they may be short of a couple of players especially after letting the now vindicated Wesley Sneijder and his Dutch team mate Arjen Robben go and doing little to fill that creative dearth. Raphael Van Der Vaart is showing more of the skill that his early career promised but is not the central midfield lynch pin they need to accompany Alonso and rival the genius of Xavi at Barcelona. If the early hints that Jose has made toward attempting to secure Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard’s arrival prove founded it may be very difficult for either of the England men, especially the Liverpool captain, to turn the offer down.

Part of the difficulty for Mourinho not only lies in the weaknesses of his own side but in the strengths of others. Barcelona are showing no signs of letting up in their quest for footballing perfection and, having already added the superlative David Villa to their forward line, look as though they could succeed in bringing Cesc Fabregas home to form a triumvirate of home grown maestros with Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. In Europe an improved result is a similarly fragile prospect. Inter now have the players and the experience to feel that they can try to retain their European title; especially if Massimo Moratti succeeds in bringing someone with the clout of Fabio Capello to the San Siro. Chelsea must now also be desperate to push for European glory after dominating in Britain. One suspects that anything other than victory, or at least a place in the final, may cost Carlo Ancelotti his job.

So Mourinho has it stacked against him. He needs to add at least 4 players to his squad before Madrid are even considered challengers for major honours again but, should he do that, his combination of astute tactical nous and ability to command the utmost respect from his players may see Madrid through. Either way “The Special One” needs to produce a special season.

Written By Jake Farrell

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Frank Lampard has no plans to retire from international football despite England's World Cup exit.

Lampard, 32, was part of the under-performing squad dumped out of the competition at the last 16 stage following a 4-1 defeat to Germany on Sunday.

The likes of the Chelsea midfielder, captain Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Emile Heskey will either be in the twilight of their careers or retired by the time the next World Cup comes around.

That coupled with another underwhelming finals performance from a much-vaunted generation of players has led to calls for whoever leads the England team into the next tournament to wipe the slate clean.

However, Lampard claims he for one has no plans to retire from international football.

"I want to carry on with England. I think there will be a lot of talking, not just about me," he said.

"It's important players go away and don't listen to it and concentrate on our jobs now.

"The talk is great for the people who are involved in that sort of thing but it doesn't actually make any difference.

"We'll try and carry on, that's what we have to do.

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"Only one team wins the World Cup and the rest go home at some stage and don't win it so the talking is by the by.

"We'll have to come back and try and perform."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Sven-Goran Eriksson has distanced himself from rumours suggesting he is being lined up to be Roy Hodgson's successor at Fulham.

The former England, Manchester City and Mexico manager is currently without a job after failing to guide Ivory Coast out of their group at the World Cup in South Africa.

The Elephants beat North Korea 3-0 but exited the tournament after losing 3-1 to Brazil and being held to a goalless draw by Portugal.

The Cottagers seem certain to lose Hodgson, who guided them to the Europa League final last season, to Liverpool, but Eriksson is adamant that he has not held any talks with the club.

When asked on BBC Radio 5 live to confirm that no-one had contacted him about the Fulham job, he said:"100 per cent confirmed.

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"But it's a dream for every manager, coming back or going into the Premier League, it's the best league in the world."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

A while ago I watched the official FIFA film of the 1994 World Cup. It opened by asking typical Americans what they knew about football. Let’s just say knowledge was scarce, responses ranged from ‘nothing’ to ‘is it that game where they kick the ball?’. Obviously it was moulded to satisfy a certain stereotype, but the message was loud and clear. What do Americans know about football?

Well, that was a few years ago now and things seem to have changed. While, for various reasons, football will never be as popular as the ‘big four’ sports in the US, it is undeniable that Uncle Sam is starting to make a big impression on the world’s game.

The USA are currently thriving in its role as an exporter, rather than a retainer of its best talent. Of its 23 man squad for the World Cup only 4 play in the MLS, with the rest spanning clubs from all over Europe from AC Milan to Villarreal. This is no different to other footballing nations from the Americas. The squads that Brazil, Argentina and Chile took to the World Cup all contained a vast majority of players who play outside of their domestic leagues.

The amount of Americans playing in the top leagues in Europe has a knock-on effect to levels of interest for football in the USA. As the likes of Clint Dempsey go abroad and become better players the national team improves – as shown by the US winning their World Cup group for the first time since 1930. As the national team improves on the World stage football becomes more popular back home, and as a result more people play and watch football at the domestic level. As the levels of interest grow the domestic league gets more exposure and more players go and play abroad.

Much like the other professional leagues in the US, the MLS is very well run in terms of youth and up and coming players. With more and more teams boasting emerging youth teams – led by DC United, the MLS also has what they call the ‘Superdraft’ which was introduced in 2000. As with basketball and the NFL, the teams in the league get to choose the best young players graduating from university. While at university these players play regular, competitive games in a team structured as if it were professional, so that the MLS is the next natural step up. This draft occurs every year and ensures that there is an endless conveyor belt of talented, intelligent, young players coming into the league. Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu, and Michael Bradley are just some of the players who have gone on to national team level after benefitting from the Superdraft system.

When David Beckham made his shock move to the LA Galaxy he said that he wanted to make a difference and he certainly has. Granted he is now past his best, but would Henry have considered going stateside had Beckham not upped the league’s profile? Henry is a player who is likely to catch the imagination of the American public, a skilful player who scores goals and he has a good chance of boosting the reputation of football in America even further.

It could be argued that the US is now replacing the Far-East as the untapped market for English Premier League teams. Spurs, Man Utd and Man City are all embarking on tours of the States this summer. To show how much the MLS has improved over the last decade and how important the market over there has become, it worth looking at the last time Ferguson took United to the America. In 2004 they played 3 exhibition games against Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Celtic, a tour of America without playing an American team. This year they play Philadelphia, Kansas City and an MLS All-Star XI.

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The USA will probably never win the World Cup and the MLS will never match the NBA, NFL or MLB. But as a nation, they still have a lot to offer the world game.

Written By Karl Sears

With the introduction of new Premier League legislation this season allowing clubs to name an unlimited number of under-21s in their squads, the Tottenham Hotspur starlet John Bostock may well have been hopeful. The 18-year old midfielder who made his debut for Spurs in a Uefa Cup tie against Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 has not featured much since. He recently bemoaned the chances of youngsters such as himself getting playing time in the cosmopolitan Premier League. Having spent a short spell at Brentford last year he has now committed to a season long loan at Hull City. Bostock now has to use this opportunity to do his talking on the pitch if he wishes to command a more prominent role on his return to north London

The gifted midfielder’s transfer from Crystal Palace to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 was particularly bitter. The then Palace chairman Simon Jordan was determined to retrieve the highest possible amount for the club’s prized asset. The two clubs failed to settle on a fee which was eventually set by a tribunal at £700,000. Bostock would have felt flattered by an ambitious Premier League club recognising his promise and fighting to secure his services.

The feeling of being wanted by a club, which all players seem to crave was not to last. Bostock has recently hit out at the number of foreign players in the league blocking the path of young players into regular top flight football. He spoke in broad terms about the problem in the Premier League which is harming youth development. “You look at the foreign contingent over here and it’s blocking us. It’s hard because we might have to wait until we are 21 or 22.” But could his sweeping comments be interpreted as a swipe at his club’s Croatian contingent, which Harry Redknapp palpably enjoys working with. Attack minded midfielders such as Kranjcar and Modric are way ahead in the pecking order at White Hart Lane. For an aspiring 18-year old his comments are unrealistic but his eagerness to play for the club which fought for him is admirable.

In comparison to many promising players of his age a scenic route around the grounds of League One and the Championship is the best way of eventually securing first team football. Having spent a month at Brentford last year, Bostock recently agreed to a season’s loan at Hull City. His arrival at the KC Stadium may be the remedy this beleaguered side have been looking for. The financial state of the club remains perilous yet the Hull faithful would have been cheered by Bostock’s match winning performance in their first match of the season against Swansea. He tested De Vries early on before unleashing an unstoppable 30-yard screamer which was always destined for the top right-hand corner. Already being touted as the Championship goal of the season it was not simply this wonder strike that had the fans brimming with delight. Operating in the hole behind the lone front-man Bostock was able to exploit this space despite the increasing pressure placed on him by Swansea’s defence.

Performances of this nature will not go unnoticed at the England under-19 international’s parent club. Players who just want to play must relish their opportunities however unorthodox or unexpected. Frequently players on loan will enjoy encouraging starts before fading away due to frustration at a change of setting, team-mates and tactics. If Bostock adopts the right attitude and develops as a player he will return to Tottenham with a renewed hope of competing with their biggest stars.

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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery

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The Football League have refused to ratify Stoke City midfielder Liam Lawrence's deadline-day switch to Portsmouth, with the Republic of Ireland international now poised for an interim loan move.

The 28-year-old was snapped up by Pompey, along with Dave Kitson, as part of the exchange deal which saw Marc Wilson head to the Britannia Stadium.

However, the Football League say that the relevant document were not received by 6pm last Tuesday, a view refuted by Pompey administrator Andrew Andronikou.

He told The News:"The Lawrence deal has not been ratified by the Football League yet and we are still waiting to hear the outcome.

"Unfortunately, we are not Tottenham and are not allowed to have this issue sorted the next day as they did with Rafael van der Vaart.

"This sort of thing will only happen to us. There is proper brinkmanship going on just because we are Portsmouth Football Club.

"From our end, all documentation was sent on time, well before the 6pm deadline. I was there myself to see it."

City chief executive Tony Scholes added:"We're disappointed that this transfer hasn't gone through.

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"However, it is important that we work with Portsmouth, the player and the authorities to find an expedient solution as if it had gone through.

"That will probably take the form of a loan move until the end of the year and then Liam would finalise his permanent move to Fratton Park in the January window."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp has described his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger as a 'nutter', but says that he still gets on well with the Frenchman.

Redknapp was speaking of the changes in Wenger's demeanour on the touchlines, with the Gunners manager having long since cast off his image as a quiet, studious coach.

"When Arsene first came to England I remember reading articles and they said that he was like a professor watching the game," Redknapp said.

"All the other nutters were jumping up and down shouting and screaming, hollering and hooting – and this man is not like those idiots.

"He just sits there and is studying every move that goes on on the pitch like chess. They didn't lose a game all season.

"Now he has joined the nutters, you know. In fact, he is one of the key nutters. That is the tension that you are under. It has affected him now.

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"He is no longer sitting there now. He is up there arguing with everybody and gets into it all. I think he has changed. He was the quietest man of the lot at one point.

"I don't have any problems with him at all, he's always been good. Sometimes I go into his office at Arsenal."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was always confident that Dimitar Berbatov would hit top form following his stunning hat-trick in Sunday's 3-2 win over arch-rivals Liverpool.

The Bulgarian, who has struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford since he arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, nodded the side in front before doubling their advantage with an audacious overhead kick.

Steven Gerrard's penalty and free-kick tied things up, but Berbatov had the last laugh as he glanced home John O'Shea's centre to seal the three points and Ferguson praised his efforts while suggesting it would have been a travesty if the Merseysiders left with a positive result.

"He had a lot of criticism last season from the media and that happens when we buy a player for a lot of money and he's not scoring a hat-trick in every game," Ferguson said.

"That's the way of the world for some players who come here. This season he's started off in the right fashion. His pre-season training was very good and his pre-season tour was very good.

"He has carried that on and I have never had any doubt about the quality of the man, and you've seen it again today."

"From a game of saying to myself, is it going to be 10 we end up 2-2 and it was a travesty of a scoreline, but a great result at the end of the day.

"They didn't offer anything really and had to depend on decisions from the linesman to get back in the game.

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"Edwin (Van der Sar) had not had a save to make and Scholes was controlling the centre of midfield.

"We were looking dangerous up front, with Berbatov and Nani, in particular, and I couldn't see us losing the game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Tonight sees Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham side head to the San Siro for a Champion’s League clash with the current holders Inter Milan. Not a man to be intimidated by such a situation, Redknapp has spoken out regarding his confidence in the team. “We’ve got a lot of players here who could play for any club,” Redknapp told the Daily Mail. “There are an awful lot of them who could. You’ve seen their performances. That includes the left back (Benoit Assou-Ekotto) who you don’t hear much about but has everything to be as good a left back as there is around”. This confidence is not without its basis: as things currently stand Tottenham are nestled 5th in the Premiership Table neck-on-neck in points with their top-four rivals Arsenal and Manchester United.

So how does Harry see the future of Tottenham? “I think Tottenham may be one or two big signings away from being a team that could win the championship… one or two players in the right positions – and I’m talking about two top, top players in the right positions.” The man’s not lacking in any optimism then.

But does he have a point? As things stand Tottenham have a solid well organised squad who have managed to develop a consistency that has been lacking within a Spurs team for quite some time. Then there’s van der Vaart who made a storming start to his Spurs career, one that is sure to continue on his return from injury. If you add a couple of world class players to this squad, you’d have to put it up there with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City, if not Chelsea.

That’s the flipside. Whilst Chelsea seem favourites to win the League, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place are up for grabs this season in a way that they haven’t be for quite some time. Winning the Premiership just seems like such a long shot for any team that isn’t Chelsea right now. Of course the footballing landscape will change a great deal over the next couple of years and anything could happen. But it strikes me that a more realistic target is to become a regular member of the Top 4. With a couple of good signings and Redknapp’s managerial nous, Spurs fans should soon find themselves accustomed to big European matches like the one they are anticipating tonight on a season-by-season basis. When they find themself in this situation, it will be the perfect platform to launch a prolonged title challenge. Let’s not forget that given Redknapp’s interest in the England job, he may not be around in a couple of years time to marshall Spur’s title challenge. This is why it’s essential that Spurs develop the consistency we attribute to teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and used to attribute to Liverpool.

I don’t wish to sound overly pessimistic. I realise that this Tottenham side has come a long way under Redknapp. The Premiership Title is no longer such a distant dream. I just think we’ll be in a much better position to discuss Tottenham’s title credentials  are come this season’s end.

If you’re interested and want to hear more feel free to follow me on Twitter.

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