Gravesen won't be forced out

Published on Saturday 26 July 2008 19:58

DANISH midfielder Thomas Gravesen is refusing to be forced out of Celtic and his stubborn stance could cost the club £9.24m for what amounts to one season's work, writes Mark Walker.

Only 24 hours after Gordon Strachan went public and stated the player would never play for the club again, Gravesen's agent insisted he was going nowhere. The former Real Madrid midfielder will collect a 1m 'loyalty' bonus if he sees out his Parkhead three-year contract, which runs until next summer.

Gravesen will continue to pick up his 40,000-per-week wages that will total 6.24m when his deal expires. The 1m windfall will push that to 7.24m and, of course, the SPL champions had to shell out 2m to Real to land the player two years ago.

His agent John Sivebaek insists Gravesen, 32, is happy to remain in Glasgow, regardless of whether he plays or not, . He said: "Thomas has a contract and he intends to see it out, that was always his intention. There have been no requests from any other clubs and he is happy at Celtic.

"Of course, he would love to be playing, but that's the manager's decision. At this stage, it seems like he won't get another chance. The unfortunate thing is that Thomas is a very good player."

Gravesen has been ordered to train with the reserves, along with another outcast, Derek Riordan.

The former Everton player, who spent last season on loan at Goodison, was substituted at half-time in a Celtic XI's 2-0 win at Livingston last weekend. He was substituted again in the reserves' 1-0 win over Donegal Celtic in midweek.

Strachan said: "I'm not worried one way or another how it pans out. He will still be treated properly if he stays here."

The Celtic manager says he will not play Gravesen for tactical reasons. "I spoke to Thomas and told him he won't play for us because of the system we play," Strachan said.

"We tried our best to get a system which suited Thomas and it hasn't worked. It was the system to blame, not the player or the club. We can't change our style of play to suit one player.

"Thomas has been good about it and understands the situation. It's a football thing and not a personal issue."