Gordon Strachan blasts Celtic stars for laughing after late missed chance

Gordon Strachan criticised Celtic pair Odsonne Edouard and Ismaila Soro after the pair were seen sharing a laugh following a late missed chance at the end of their side’s 1-0 victory over Aberdeen.
Ismaila Soro and Odsonne Edouard share a laugh as they discuss a late missed chance during their side's 1-0 win over Aberdeen. Picture: SNSIsmaila Soro and Odsonne Edouard share a laugh as they discuss a late missed chance during their side's 1-0 win over Aberdeen. Picture: SNS
Ismaila Soro and Odsonne Edouard share a laugh as they discuss a late missed chance during their side's 1-0 win over Aberdeen. Picture: SNS

The former Parkhead boss questioned the ‘personality’ of the pair and compared it to a similar situation he experienced with former team-mate Stevie Archibald where the pair didn’t talk to each other for months afterward.

Edouard had a glorious opportunity to play in Soro for a free shot on goal in the closing seconds of the match at Celtic Park but opted instead to go himself and saw his shot blocked.

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No grudges were held as cameras picked up the duo laughing about the missed opportunity once referee Willie Collum blew the full-time whistle, though Strachan insists that reflects badly on the pair.

He said on Celtic TV: “I wouldn’t have been happy if I was a manager and I seen they two laughing at something like that.

"Togetherness means you can say to somebody, ‘I’ve made a 50-yard run, push me in, we’ve won 2-0 and then we celebrate’, and the guy who’s made a mistake can take it. That’s more together than being all, ‘aye, that was unlucky’.

"The manager has resigned this week. How can you smile at that? An opportunity to lay somebody in, to pass and score, 2-0, rather than going for it yourself. That would be my concern.

"I had an incident with Stevie Archibald at Aberdeen. We were beating Airdrie 5-0 and I never passed the ball to him. It’s the end of the game and we’ve won 8-0. He’s screaming at me and I’m screaming at him. We never spoke to each other for three months. Three months because he so badly wanted to win the game and batter Airdrie. He wanted to score goals, he wanted to drive it into Airdrie and he was unhappy with me.

"That’s all to do with personality and what you’re trying to get out of life and where you’re trying to go in life. Are you wanting to go to the top? Can you push each other to be better and demand to be better instead of accepting things that aren’t good enough?”

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