Celtic plan to upgrade training facilities

Celtic chairman Brian Quinn has vowed to enhance training facilities at the club to impress visiting dignitaries.

The news will come as a major boost to manager Martin O’Neill, who has previously admitted looking on enviously at Rangers’ training complex.

Now, however, Quinn insists the board are preparing an overhaul of the current training facilities at Barrowfield to bring the club in line with other major European teams.

Quinn told the club’s official website, www.celticfc.net: “I think the time is right when we should be thinking about doing something to enhance the facilities at Barrowfield and really stepping them up to look much more attractive.

“When foreign clubs and potential sponsors come to Celtic Park, they want to see the training facilities and they are not impressed.

“If we want to portray a picture of a top side, then we have to attend to that. We also have to attend to Celtic Park as well.

“Right now, it wouldn’t make any sense to rebuild the South Stand because it would require a lot of money and I’m not sure that it would pay for itself but what we can do is improve the lounge facilities and the boardroom.

“These are not as they should be. We are a big club and we want to reflect that in what we have on offer.”

But, while work is set for training and commercial facilities, Quinn concedes the chances of O’Neill being given the entire jackpot from their current UEFA Cup run is unlikely.

He said: “It’s not quite as simple as that. You have to get to the end of the financial year before you can make those kind of decisions.

“We will do all that we can to retain Martin but we are not going to go down the route so many other clubs have done in recent times, giving themselves serious financial difficulties.

“If we are successful, if we take the team forward and if Martin sees his ambitions being realised why wouldn’t he be here for the next three seasons?

“That’s the key. He’s an ambitious man with a great deal of energy and drive. He wants to see his own career and the career of the people he works with going forward.

“If we continue to be successful year after year then I think Martin will retain that motivation.

“His stock continues to rise but we always knew that would be the case. His name is on the radar screen with European clubs and English clubs but we are used to that and not too apprehensive about it.”

Meanwhile Jackie McNamara is poised to put pen to paper on a new deal after agreeing to stay at Parkhead for another year.