New signings likely at Celtic - Thompson

Celtic midfielder Alan Thompson believes Martin O’Neill has been plotting to bring new players to Parkhead while everyone else has been speculating over his future.

So far O’Neill’s summer spending has extended only as far as striker David Fernandez, who signed from Livingston for £1m (€1.56m), while Rangers boss Alex McLeish has snapped up former Wolves defender Kevin Muscat and splashed out £6m (€9.34m) on Barcelona’s highly-rated youngster Mikel Arteta.

The sacking of Leeds United boss David O’Leary meant Celtic’s biggest battle over the summer intially appeared to be ensuring O’Neill would still be at Parkhead for the new campaign until the Hoops boss insisted he would see out the remaining year on his contract.

Speculation has now shifted to whether O’Neill will extend his current deal beyond the next 12 months, but Thompson believes the Celtic manager will now be focusing his attentions on stengthening his squad for the new season.

The former Aston Villa midfielder admits Rangers are likely to present a stronger challenge as McLeish embarks on his first full season at Rangers.

But Thompson insists there is still enough time for Celtic to attract new players to Parkhead ahead of the new campaign.

He said: ‘‘The most important thing for us this season will be making sure that we retain the championship.

‘‘It won’t be easy and I think Rangers will make it even more difficult for us and will really push us this year.

‘‘I know they’ve brought a couple of new players in but there is still more than three weeks to go until the start of the new season.

‘‘That’s enough time to bring in another couple of players and I’m sure that will happen.’’

The frenzy surrounding O’Neill’s future at the club meant Celtic’s pre-season tour of Dublin - where they played Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers at the weekend - was overshadowed.

Thompson, like the rest of his team-mates, remains in the dark as to how long O’Neill will commit himself to Celtic but insists it won’t affect the players on the park.

He added: ‘‘We’re professional footballers so we just had to get on with things and not let it get to us.

‘‘We had our jobs to get on with and we just had to concentrate on the job at hand.

‘‘As for whether the manager will renew his contract, we’ll just have to wait and see.

‘‘He has honoured his contract until now and we’ll see what happens after that.

‘‘A lot of things could sway his decision one way or another and could determine whether he stays or goes.’’