Scott McDonald denies rumours he was dressing room '˜mole' at Celtic

Ex-Celtic striker Scott McDonald has denied rumours he was a dressing room 'mole' during his time with the Parkhead club.

Scott McDonald starred for Celtic for two-and-a-half seasons. Picture: Ian Rutherford

The Australian has admitted knowing which person was leaking stories to the press, but dismissed rumours of his responsibility as “nonsense” on a recent episode of the Glasgow Is Green podcast.

The Australian starred at Celtic Park in a two-and-a-half-year spell between 2007 and 2010, netting 64 goals in 127 games and helping the club to win the 2007/08 Scottish Premier League title.

During his time, several stories were leaked to the newspapers, which led to speculation from fans that McDonald was involved due to a friendship with Daily Record journalist and well-known Scottish football personality Keith Jackson.

McDonald admitted to being curious as to where the stories were coming from, but insists there was never going to be any chance of the source being a member of the Celtic Park dressing room at the time.

Asked about the rumours, he said: “I heard about it later on. It made me laugh. I guess things grow arms and length. I know where these rumours came from because, to this day, I have a very good relationship with Keith Jackson at the Daily Record. That goes back to well before I moved to Celtic.

“But guys, come on. Do you think Peter Lawwell or Gordon Strachan don’t have enough clout that if something like that was going on in their changing room, then I would’ve lasted two minutes?

“People can say what they want and they can put one and one together because they see me and Keith Jackson going out for dinner.

“It’s a complete and utter fabrication and just nonsense. I know exactly where the stories were coming from. But I can I tell you? Probably not.

“At the time I was asking Keith where these stories were coming from. He wouldn’t tell me. I didn’t find out until later, but they certainly weren’t coming from the changing room. They were coming from a source outside, a family member. The other players didn’t find out until later.

“People can think what they want, but I’ll defend myself. It’s just one of those things where you think ‘come on guys’. At the end of the day it’s a non-starter.”

• Listen to the full episode of the Glasgow Is Green podcast here.