O'Neill delays Amoroso decision

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill is likely to have another look at Marcio Amoroso before deciding whether to offer him a deal or not.

The Brazilian hitman has spent the week training at Parkhead and is set to leave Glasgow later today.

Other commitments meant that O’Neill was only able to watch the former Borussia Dortmund player in one training session and the Hoops boss admitted he would be keen for Amoroso to make another trip to Celtic Park.

He said: “He’s leaving on Friday and I wouldn’t mind having another look at him if that’s possible.

“Perhaps the agents will have something else in mind.

“If they have taken the time to come up here, they’ll certainly take the time to hear what I have to say.

“He must have had some interest in coming here in the first place otherwise they wouldn’t have asked.”

Amoroso was released by Dortmund last month for failing to return to the club after having treatment on a serious knee injury in the United States.

Despite the acrimonious departure from the Bundesliga side, O’Neill is more interested in discovering if the ligament damage he suffered would be a problem in future.

He added: “It would be unfair of me if he came up here and I had made a decision before even looking at him.

“I wanted to have a look at him myself because with anyone who has had a fairly nasty injury you want to see how they have recovered.

“The first thing is to see if the lad has any problems with his knee.

“Seemingly that’s okay but an extensive medical would go a long way to resolving that. But I’ve done none of that at this minute.”

O’Neill’s other target at the moment is World Cup winner Rivaldo, who is also being chased by Barclaycard Premiership side Bolton.

But O’Neill admits any final decisions he makes on new signings are likely to come down to how much he can stretch his budget.

He said: “There are loads of things to consider for a start, and I would have to balance all of those things with the budget. I expect to know very shortly.

“If nothing materialises or something happens elsewhere, then that’s the way it will happen. The first thing I would say is that I would not be signing someone blindly.

“And I might find out that the financial packages involved might be beyond us anyway.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Neil Lennon reckons the abuse he suffers from opposition fans has worsened over the course of this season.

The Northern Irishman insists he is used to sectarian taunts when the Hoops face Old Firm rivals Rangers but he believes he has to cope with more general abuse now than ever before.

He said: “I’m pretty much immune to it – it’s been going on week in, week out for the last couple of years and I’m prepared for it when I go out on the pitch.

“A lot of the grounds it’s not sectarian abuse, it’s personal abuse aimed at me, but with the Old Firm there is that sectarian element and on a smaller scale at other grounds.

“I wouldn’t go as far to say that the abuse aimed at me is sectarian at all other grounds. They just don’t like me.

“It is getting worse and definitely this season the abuse aimed at me has escalated quite considerably.”