Mark McGhee: Celtic handshake snub was '˜misunderstanding'

Celtic manager Ronny Deila now has a metaphorical hand on the Premiership trophy but Mark McGhee was in no mood to shake it after his team were defeated by the champions-elect at Fir Park yesterday.

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee did not shake Ronny Deila's hand at the end of the match. Picture: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

The Motherwell manager had shaken hands with members of the Celtic coaching staff at the final whistle but made a very obvious move to snub his Parkhead counterpart, prompting bemusement.

Quizzed about it in the post-match press conference, McGhee, who was obviously still furious about his team being denied a goal due to a tight offside decision, claimed he had no idea what his inquisitor was talking about. When it was suggested that he had blanked Deila he stated: “No, that’s not true. I’ve got nothing to say about that. Not a thing.”

However, he later claimed it had all been a misunderstanding. What actually happened was, at the beginning of the game, I felt as if when I went over to shake hands with the Celtic staff they blanked me,” explained McGhee. “I’ve spoken to Ronny about it and it was a total, 100 per cent misunderstanding on my part, and I accept totally he didn’t see me. That’s fine, and he and I have shaken hands.”

Deila did not speak to the media, first-team coach John Kennedy taking the questions. Celtic’s performance gives them a great boost ahead of next weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers. “Of course. It is massive,” he said. “If we take some of our first-half performance into that game then it will be good. In Celtic v Rangers games and semi-finals, anything can happen.”