Tony Mowbray says his word is final over player transfers

Responding to Caldwell's claim he had been moved on by the club's board against Mowbray's wishes, the Celtic manager stated he had in fact sanctioned his departure as it became clear negotiations over a new contract for the Scotland defender had reached an impasse.

Mowbray, who also saw Barry Robson, Willo Flood and Chris Killen shipped out to Middlesbrough this week, stressed he is both comfortable with the loss of all four players and firmly in control of who joins and leaves the club. He again made it clear Aiden McGeady will not be joining the exodus from his first team squad, despite renewed interest from Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish.

"Anyone who leaves this football club does so because the manager makes the decision that we've got to move things around," said Mowbray.

"I've said since day one that players will come and go. Managers build teams over a period of time and the transfer window is the only time you can have movement, which is what is happening at the moment.

"With regard to Gary Caldwell, it's too black and white to say what he said. With any footballer, there are contract negotiations which either conclude positively or lead to a parting of the ways. That's where we are with Gary. We never got to a point of satisfaction for all parties.

"The club will move on. The fact he has gone doesn't present me with a headache. I have a very strong working relationship with the executives and with my chief executive Peter Lawwell and the major shareholder Dermot Desmond. We have a responsibility to run the football club properly on and off the field. That's what we are doing.

"So there's no animosity or anything going on behind the scenes that anyone should try to read anything into. I admire Gary Caldwell as a guy and a player, and yet there was a negotiation that went on and on and never came to a conclusion. Another club made a bid, and we accepted that bid. So I don't think we need to look too deeply into those comments."

Caldwell had claimed his departure was more orchestrated by the Celtic hierarchy than Mowbray. He said: "You have to ask Peter and Dermot if they underestimated me as a footballer. They judged me and their judgment was a little bit off from mine. I have no regrets – I had three and a half years there and they were great for me. Hopefully I was good for them.

"But the boss had one opinion and the club had a different one. I think the club won in the end."

He added: "The gaffer told me at different times he wanted me to stay. Ultimately, we came to a crossroads and it went the wrong way for me and my future at Celtic. There was one negotiation between my agent and Peter."

Mowbray has recruited South Korean midfielder Ki Sung Yeung and Dutch defender Jos Hooiveld so far this month and hopes to add further newcomers before the window closes. Norwegian under-21 international defender Thomas Rogne is currently training with Celtic. The 19-year-old is out of contract at his club, Stabaek, and available for a compensation fee of around 200,000. "We are always focused on bringing new players in," added Mowbray, "but there still might be some who are going. If the opportunity comes for certain players to move elsewhere, and it is right for the club, then that will be allowed to happen."

What Mowbray is grimly determined will not happen is the sale of McGeady at any price. Fresh speculation yesterday claimed Birmingham City, lavishly funded by new owner Carson Yeung, are prepared to offer as much as 14million for the Irish international winger.

Mowbray, however, has ridiculed that valuation of McGeady and advised his City counterpart Alex McLeish to save himself the price of a phone call.

The former Rangers manager is a long-term admirer of McGeady's ability and pace and believes he would thrive south of the border. But Mowbray has attempted to distance himself from the notion that the player would be allowed to leave for a certain price.

"Aiden is a very important factor in, hopefully, our future success," he said. "There is no need for us to accept or listen to any bids that we don't want. As far as Aiden is concerned, his situation is such that people are wasting their time phoning about him.

"This club is not in need of money. Players will only leave because of their contractual situation or if I want them to leave, basically. The numbers being mentioned (about McGeady) are ridiculously small numbers. You may say ridiculously high numbers, but I say ridiculously small."

While Mowbray was keen to stress Celtic are under no financial pressure to sell players, he did accept they are in no position to compete with the salary levels on offer in either the English Premier League or Championship where Caldwell and Robson have significantly increased their earnings this week.

"I managed a team in the English Premier League last season with a larger salary budget that the one which exists at Celtic," said Mowbray. "Wigan are an established EPL club and when I tried to buy one or two players from there last season, the conversations finished when we learned the salaries of even their fringe players.

"It's the same at Middlesbrough, who are still getting the parachute money in the Championship. The bottom line is that Barry Robson went there because the deal was right for us and right for him as well."

Of his two new signings, Ki is the most likely to be involved when Celtic return from a fortnight in cold storage to face Falkirk at Parkhead this afternoon. Hooiveld is short of match fitness and may have to wait for his debut.

"It has been a long two weeks with the weather," said Mowbray. "Falkirk are a decent football team who move the ball around well. I'm very conscious we need to be better both with and without possession than we were when we drew 3-3 at Falkirk earlier in the season."