TONY MOWBRAY has urged Celtic fans to enjoy watching Robbie Keane for the rest of the season as the Parkhead club have little chance of buying him in the summer.
The Republic of Ireland star has scored eight goals in eight games since arriving on loan from Tottenham in January.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, however, claimed he will not be loaning Keane out again which means Celtic would have to come up with a substantial transfer fee if they want to keep him in Glasgow.
However, Celtic boss Mowbray ruled out a permanent deal ahead of the SPL clash with St Johnstone at Parkhead.
"For me it is about Robbie enjoying his football and hopefully the Celtic fans have enjoyed what he brings and the goals that he brings," he said.
"If it is the case that he goes back to Tottenham at the end of the season all we can do is hope he enjoyed his time at Celtic and contributed some goals, which he already has done, and hopefully some enjoyment for the supporters.
"But football is very much about finance these days and Robbie Keane is way out of our structure.
"He cost them (Spurs) £12million. I don’t think that our board are going to loosen the purse strings that much.
"I wouldn’t dare tell Harry Redknapp what his best options would be, but I do know that Robbie will have benefited from playing regular football and he has shown the quality that he possesses.
"Harry has some pretty special players at his disposal and Robbie is here because Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko were competition for him. He may face similar challenges when he goes back. But when was the last time a Scottish club played £12m for a player? Was it Tore Andre Flo? Those days are long gone."
Celtic have beaten Saints 5-2 at home and 4-1 away this season but Mowbray is expecting a difficult afternoon against a side he believes might have surprised some people by moving to within three points of sixth-placed Hearts with two games in hand.
"They were tough games until we got the goals to win and it will be the same at the weekend," he said.
"I’m sure they will give us a stern test. They have been very competitive this season and their results over the last couple of weeks highlights that.
"Some might have thought they would have been clambering for points to stay out of the relegation zone and yet, there they are, trying to get into the top six, which is a great credit to them. They will come to Celtic Park in confident mood."
Marc-Antoine Fortune is hoping that Mowbray is aware of his scoring record against the Perth side this season when it comes to picking his starting XI.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, March 20, 2010
