Novo will miss winding up Celtic fans as Ibrox exit looks likely

Novo confirmed yesterday that the odds were against him staying at Ibrox after being disappointed with the club's contract offer.

The forward, who is considering offers from England, Spain and Greece, established himself as a firm favourite with the supporters during his six years at Ibrox.

His popularity was assured on arrival after holding out for a move to Rangers despite Celtic beating their Old Firm rivals to Dundee's 500,000 valuation of his transfer. That decision is the starting point for his autobiography, I Said No Thanks, which he launched at Ibrox yesterday, and set the tone for his stay in Glasgow.

Only last week he further ingratiated himself with the Rangers support, and annoyed the Celtic fans, by hitting out at some of the Parkhead players for their comments in the wake of Rangers' second successive Clydesdale Bank Premier League title. Novo said: "There have been lows and highs over the years but for me the most important thing is the fans.

"I will miss coming out the tunnel and hearing the noise. The fans are the main thing that has kept me going.

"I got a bit emotional on Sunday. I always say I love this club with a passion. What I'm going to miss the most is not just the club, for me Rangers Football Club are the fans.

"I have always been quite close with them in my six years and I need to say thanks to all of them for their support."

The Spaniard hesitated when asked if he would miss annoying Celtic fans, but only for comic effect.

"Yes," he smiled. "That's football. As a football player you need a bit of banter. I will miss that as well. I love to play in derbies, everyone loves to play in the derbies, Celtic players love to play in them. You always see the build-up in the media starting two weeks before the game, and Glasgow is in colours and you get excited for the day to come."

While Novo might have what he regards as a healthy disdain for Celtic, he is full of respect for their former manager Gordon Strachan, who is reported to have made a firm contract offer to the Spaniard to sign for Middlesbrough.

"I always say about Strachan, he was brilliant for Celtic," the former Raith Rovers player said. "He won the league, he won cups, he did a fantastic job for Celtic."

But Novo never strayed far from the topic of the Rangers fans as he spoke in the Ibrox media room for perhaps the last time. Novo shares the fears of those supporters as they await a takeover of Sir David Murray's majority stake.

London property developer Andrew Ellis has been considering a reported 33million bid for the club, who have debts of around that figure. Manager Walter Smith's future remains uncertain in the impasse and Novo is one of six out-of-contract players who may have played their last game for the club.

David Weir is pondering his future after turning 40 on Monday while Kris Boyd and Kirk Broadfoot have yet to decide on their contract offers. DaMarcus Beasley and Steven Smith have both declared they will be leaving. Novo said: "You can't blame anybody here, you can't blame Martin Bain, you can't blame the manager.

"The bank are the ones that are running the club right now. That's a big problem and for me, we need to think about the fans.

"Some people don't go on holiday just to get a season ticket. They pay all that money to come and watch good football.

"It's time to start opening the eyes of the fans and being honest with them."

Novo is not certain he will leave, though, with his agent expected to hold further talks with the club.

"I don't know what is going to happen yet but it looks like it may be my last game," the 31-year-old said.

"But there are still a lot of things to go so we will just need to wait and see.

"It's more chance that I will be leaving. Obviously I want to play more football as well at my age."

Meanwhile, Celtic have confirmed two more games of their pre-season tour of North America. Celtic will face Philadelphia Union on 14 July at PPL Park and Seattle Sounders at the Qwest Field on 18 July.

The club last week announced a match against Manchester United on 16 July.

Chief executive Peter Lawwell said: "Celtic Football Club has enjoyed many successful visits to the United States and Canada and we are sure that this summer's tour will be another great occasion.

"These visits are great for Celtic and our supporters and a tremendous way to promote Scottish football. The club always receives a very warm welcome in Canada and the United States and we are pleased that through such tours our fans have the chance to see the team in action."