4-1 win over Gers takes Ujpest to the top of the table

Ujpest Dozsa moved to the top of the Hungarian table with a 4-1 win away to Zalaegersegli to the delight of manager Willie McStay.

The staggered nature of the fixture card means that their lead is likely to be short lived but that's unlikely to effect McStay's satisfaction.

ZTE as they are better known took the lead in the 20th minute but captain Peter Kabat led by example with a hat-trick with Foxi Kethevoama striking the other as Ujpest fought back to claim the points.

"We kept the tempo high and that brought it's rewards," McStay said after the game. "Any win away from home is very satisfying and ZTE have had some good results recently.

"The squad has worked hard on it's fitness and the players are getting their rewards. In this league teams can take their foot off the gas at times but we're keeping the tempo high.

"It's nice to be top of the league especially after winning away from home. Peter Kabat played a real captains role and took his goals well.

"I was very pleased with Mark Millar. He came onto a good game in the second half and is starting to assert himself on the team."

Elsewhere in the world of Celtic the u-19s drew 0-0 away to Hibs in a game in which neither side really deserved anything more from.

Draws were the order of the day with Darren O'Dea having to settle for a 0-0 draw on his Reading debut against Doncaster Rovers with Swindon drawing 1-1 at home to Colchester.

John Hartson documentary

RECENT POSTS

John Hartson documentary clip

On Monday Stv will screen the first television interview with John Hartson since he was diagnosed with cancer.

The Stv website has a clip from the programme which is both concerning and reassuring at the same time.

The Big Bad John image has lightened a lot, the face that we saw on Setanta, unshaven and with the top button undone has been replaced with a much softer image and a different tone to his voice... CLICK HERE for more

EXTRA ASSISTANTS ON DUTY FOR EUROPA LEAGUE

Uefa have just announced that two additional assistant referees will be on duty at this seasons Europa League matches.

Celtic face Hapoel Tel Aviv away from home on Thursday and will experience the additional assistants for the first time.

The move seems a sensible one from Uefa and will be monitored by Fifa with a view to extending it's use... CLICK HERE for more

Clip from John Hartson documentary

On Monday Stv will screen the first television interview with John Hartson since he was diagnosed with cancer.

The Stv website has a clip from the programme which is both concerning and reassuring at the same time.

The Big Bad John image has lightened a lot, the face that we saw on Setanta, unshaven and with the top button undone has been replaced with a much softer image and a different tone to his voice.

Just over three months ago big John was one of the bhoys at the Tommy Burns match enjoying a kick about with other great Celts and earning a special cheer as he lobbed the ball over Mark Brown to pull a goal back for the legends.

The Stv documentary promises to be an eye-opener and tear-jerker, it's strange to think of someone as lively and outgoing as BBJ being anything other than larger than life.

As he says in the Stv trailer: "You worry about people who you'll maybe leave behind.

"It spread to my lung and up to my brain, when something like this happens that's when you can show your toughness.

"I'm not going to be able to thank everyone personally for their message but I appreciate every one, both from inside and outside football. And the biggest thanks to my fantastic family and friends."

STV LINK

Extra assistants on duty in Europa League

Uefa have just announced that two additional assistant referees will be on duty at this seasons Europa League matches.

Celtic face Hapoel Tel Aviv away from home on Thursday and will experience the additional assistants for the first time.

The move seems a sensible one from Uefa and will be monitored by Fifa with a view to extending it's use.

The additional assistants will be placed behind the goal-line on the opposite side of the goal from the existing official, in Celtic Park terms this means that there will be an assistant between the Jock Stein and South Stand and also between the Lisbon Lions and North Stand.

ADDITIONAL
A Uefa statement read: "In essence the additional assistant referees will provide two extra pairs of eyes to monitor the game and ensure that the Laws of the Game are upheld, informing the referee of incidents of any kind that he may otherwise have missed, particularly in key areas of the field like the penalty area and its surroundings.

"The referee will remain in sole charge of the match and the only match official with decision-making powers.

"The additional assistant referees will be positioned on the opposite side of the goal from the assistant referee – to the left when viewed from the centre circle.

"Using a radio communication system to relay their recommendations to the referee but without flags, additional assistant referees will generally remain behind the goalline but may enter the penalty area when play moves towards the other end of the pitch so as to keep up with the action."

UEFA explanation

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Captaincy decision

Championship team of Celts

Captaincy decision looms closer for Mowbray

The return from injury of Stephen McManus will pose some interesting questions for Tony Mowbray in terms of his defensive formation and also the captaincy issue.

Captaincy is generally a less important issue in the modern game but at Celtic it carries more status although recent captains have had their work cut out living up to the job description defined by Billy McNeill and refined by Danny McGrain and Roy Aitken.

McManus's return presents Mowbray with three central defensive options and also three captaincy options.

The Celtic manager hasn't commented much on the captaincy position, it is trendy to suggest that a team should be full of captains but inspirational types are generally thin on the ground.

McManus has been the club captain for the last two years but faces a battle to regain his place in the team which would surely put his position as captain in jeopardy.

CONTRACT
Caldwell has been the captain this season, when available, but has been below his best form and is now well into the final year of his contract.

Outsider Looverns had a troubled start to his Celtic career but since starring in the Co-Operative Cup Final win over Rangers in March has probably been the club's best defender.

Three into two won't go with Mowbray a fan of the 4-4-2 system which looks like leaving one internationalist sitting on the sidelines as the season develops.

Picking up on the impressive domestic form against Dundee United and Hearts over the next two weekends is all important, last season Celtic managed to draw six games out of eight against the teams battling for third place.

The defensive selection and captains role tomorrow will give interesting pointers towards the future shape of Mowbray's side.

The Championship team of Celts

A full team of former and on loan Celtic players can now be found playing in the Championship which is apparently the fifth richest league in the world, miles ahead of the SPL.

They may not read like Fallon, Young and Gemmell but Marshall, Healy, O'Dea, Crainey, Wallace; Hartley, Sno, Pearson; Alidiare, Beattie and Sheridan wouldn't be the shoddiest team to wear the hoops.

Almost every week every fixture in the division carries a Celtic connection with former players Roy Keane and Malky Mackay in charge at Ipswich and Watford.

MADEJSKI
Both teams were in the hunt to sign Darren O'Dea on loan but it was Reading boss Brendan Rodgers, a long term admirer of O'Dea, that persuaded the defender to move to the Madejski Stadium.

O'Dea will make his debut for 'the Royals' against Doncaster Rovers tomorrow with his new club trailing in the race for a lucrative place in the Premiership with the relegated trio of Newcastle, Middlesboro and West Brom setting the early pace at the top of the table.

Swapping the green and white hoops for blue and white shouldn't be too difficult for O'Dea with Reading now sporting a natty green and white away kit.

PLAY-OFFS
Reading are in need of a win after a disappointing start to the season after losing out to Owen Coyle's Burnley in last season's play-off's which led to the departure of long term manager Steve Coppell.

The collapse of last season has continued into the new term with manager Brendan Rodgers looking for a first home win since January at the impressive but clearly not intimidating Madejski Stadium.

Rodgers admitted: "There is no doubt we need to make our home into a fortress. That will be the key. We want to get back to winning ways there and quickly because results have not been good for a long time now.

"We've got two home games in a row coming up and a chance to take maximum points. They're against difficult opponents but we want to maximise our home advantage.

MOURNING
"I think some supporters are still be mourning what happened last season because they feel the team should have gone up.

"I understand that because for a long time they had a team they could identify with, but times have changed. This is a new cycle and new players now and we need supporters to identify with them instead. The way to do that is to win games and show our quality.

"There have been big changes here over the summer and we're having to go through a bit of pain first of all. But for me the pain will be worth it when we emerge as a stronger unit."

A new era is well underway at Reading with the majority of their Premiership players such as Kevin Doyle and Steve Hunt having moved on back to the top flight.

ANCHORING
O'Dea will have a key role to play in the new look side anchoring the defence and providing the leadership qualities that gave him the Celtic captaincy in the absence of Stephen McManus and Gary Caldwell.

Around the loan Celts Cillian Sheridan will be boosted by his goal for the Irish u-21s when Plymouth travel to face West Brom separated by twenty places after just five games.

Down a division Simon Ferry and Ben Hutchison will be hoping to make it three wins out of three when Swindon face Colchester United.

Guilleme Beuzelin on trial at Celtic

Former Hibs midfielder Guilleme Beuzelin made a surprise appearance for Celtic in tonight's 1-0 win over Cork City.

The French midfielder was released by Coventry City at the end of last season and had been offered training facilities by Tony Mowbray.

That situation has clearly moved on with Beuzelin making an appearance for Celtic in a side managed by Neil Lennon and Danny McGrain.

Beuzelin was one of Mowbray's first signing's as manager of Hibs and was a key part of that Hibs side helping to bring through Scott Brown, Kevin Thompson and others.

As a free agent the 30-year-old is able to sign for a club outwith the transfer window and has clearly made an impression on Mowbray.

Celtic's midfield options have been reduced by the departures of Shunsuke Nakamura, Paul Hartley, Massimo Donati and Simon Ferry with only Landry N'Guemo being brought in although Chinese skipper Zheng Zhi has also been signed by the club.

On the park Paddy McCourt scored the only goal of the match with a spectacular first half solo effort after receiving a short corner from Graham Carey.

The fixture also marked the return from injury of Barry Robson but it will be the appearance of Beuzelin in a Celtic jersey that will be the main talking point from Celtic's trip to Cork.

Celtic XI: Dominic Cervi, Mark Wilson, Ryan Conroy, Declan Gallagher, Josh Thompson, Marc Crosas, Paddy McCourt, Barry Robson, Koki Mizuno, Paul McGowan, Graham Carey

Subs: Anton Kurakins ( Paul McGowan, 29), Jason Marr (Josh Thompson, 46), Guilleme Beuzelin (Marc Crosas, 46), Luca Santonocito (Koki Mizuno, 76), Daniele Giordano (Dominic Cervi, 82), Kristanis Vallers (Declan Gallagher, 82)

The great Liam Miller mystery

The great Liam Miller mystery

With Celtic playing Cork City tonight it's ironic that one of the rebel counties most famous, or infamous, Celts is currently out of football.

When Martin O'Neill stalled and stalled on a new contract for the emerging Miller the screams and hysterics from the Celtic support were long and loud as the midfielder signed a pre-contract with Manchester United.

What do you expect a club and player to do?

Miller hadn't been given a meaningful contract offer from Celtic and was available on a free.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Wouldn't you love your club to sign an emerging 23-year-old that had scored twice in the current Champions League campaign and who was out of contract in six months time.

With a wage of less than £1,000 a week how attractive would a transfer to Manchester United be?

Not unexpectedly Miller never established himself at Old Trafford, not many players do, ask Carlos Tevez.

After 22 appearances for Manchester United Miller moved onto Sunderland, signed by Roy Keane and then cold shouldered by his fellow Corkman before being sent on loan to QPR for the end of last season.

Throughout these difficult times Miller has made 19 appearances for Ireland and bizarrely is currently without a club.

TRAPATTONI
At the age of 28 Miller should be in his prime, he is still rated by Giovanni Trapattoni but is unable to get into the international side due to his lack of first team football.

After beating South Africa last night the Irish manager explained: "Liam Miller is a good player and he is in our squad. If we had scored a second goal I would have played Miller.

"I have spoken to him about his situation and his morale is not great. He's a clever kid, he's very humble. He's not presumptuous and arrogant. I hope he gets a club soon."

Miller could be playing in the World Cup at the end of the season, or he could be forgotten, left to rot in footballing Siberia.

A return to Celtic has been on the rumour mill for long enough, he does fit the Mowbray identikit style of player but I wouldn't hold my breath on seeing Miller return to Paradise.

Guilleme Beuzelin on trial with Celtic

O'Dea: I'm desperate to get involved with international side

Darren O'Dea is hoping that moving to Reading can kick-start his international career.

Before he has kicked a ball for the Championship club the 22-year-old has been drafted into the Ireland squad to face South Africa tonight.

With key World Cup qualifiers taking place this week a friendly against South Africa in Limerick is unlikely to attract too much attention but for O'Dea it's the perfect opportunity.

The Celtic defender has been in Giovanni Trapattoni's thoughts since being included in his first international get together in May 2008 but the Italian has been unable to give O'Dea a chance due to his lack of first team football.

Occasional stand-in appearances in central defence or being drafted in as an emergency left-back has did little for O'Dea's development but perhaps opportunity knocks as he prepares for a new challenge with Reading.

With the backing of a new three year deal at Celtic and interest from half a dozen Championship clubs O'Dea is as ready as he'll ever be to launch himself onto the international arena.

He said: "It's been very hard for me over the last 18 months for me to think about international football when I've not been playing club football.

"So I've sorted that out now and once I'm playing, then it's something that I am very much aware of. I'm desperate to be involved.

MOWBRAY
"Tony Mowbray has been great since he came. He spoke very straight with me and I've been straight with him and we decided this was the best way to go. I've recommitted myself to the club and they have committed themselves to me.

"I was adamant the loan would happen. For me, it was the most important thing and obviously for the club it was very important I signed a new contract as they see me in their future.

"I've heard it (the experience factor) since I was 19, yet I've played in big games and I've proved myself.

"Don't get me wrong, I do need to get a lot more experience. I hear it regularly and I want to be judged on ability rather than experience. So once I get this experience, I will return to Celtic and I don't want to hear it again."

O'Dea will make his Reading debut at home to Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.

O'Dea gets Ireland call up

Darren O'Dea has been called up into the Ireland squad to face South Africa at Limerick on Tuesday.

The defender joined Reading on loan last week after signing a new three year contract at Celtic and is desperate to get a chance at international level.

Richard Dunne and Kevin Kilbane are amongst five players that Giovanni Trapattoni has excused from the South African game giving O'Dea a chance to stake his claim for the international side.

Dunne and Preston's Sean St-Ledger formed the central defensive partnership in the 2-1 win over Cyprus on Saturday.

As a former u-21 captain Dubliner O'Dea is hoping to make the step up into the full international squad with his loan deal to Reading viewed as the perfect platform to accelerate his ambitions for Celtic and Ireland.

After scoring for Celtic against Rangers in the final of the Co-Operative Cup in March O'Dea was called up for an international get together but left out of the final squad that travelled to face Italy in Bari.

Ireland host the Italians at Croke Park on October 10 with three teams still battling it out for the top two places with Italy facing Bulgaria on Wednesday in Turin.

The Ireland-Italy match is certain to be a massive occasion at Croke Park with Trapattoni confident of his adopted countries chances of making it to the World Cup Finals.

Refereeing decisions will be watched closely in the Italy-Bulgaria match with 12 Italians knowing that a booking in Wednesday's match will mean missing out against Ireland due to suspension.

Celts ko'd at the Masters

Celtic were knocked out of the British Masters after losing 2-1 to Tranmere.

After a goal-less first half Stewart Barlow put Tranmere in front three minutes into the second half but Celtic equalised almost straight away through Andy Walker but with penalties looming Tranmere striker Ian Muir lobbed the ball over Stewart Kerr to knock Celtic out.

There was certainly a competitive/nasty element to the match with Andy Walker and Kenny Irons warned in the first half after squaring up to each other.

The first half was hardly an advert for the beautiful game reviving memories of Wattenancio with two teams determined to give nothing away with Stewart Kerr pulling off a few impressive stops.

At the end of the match there was a bit of a stramash as Tranmere prevented Celtic taking a free kick to run down the clock with Darren Jackson and Chic Charnley leading the protests to referee John Underhill.

The earlier quarter-finals had turned out to be goalfests with former Motherwell striker Don Goodman bagging a hat-trick for Wolves in the 6-1 win over Leicester.

Tranmere will play Wolves in the semi-final but with Celtic ko'd it's just another old boys kickaround.

Celtic team: Stewart Kerr, Tom Boyd, Mark McNally, Alan Stubbs, Brian McLaughlin, Chic Charnley, Darren Jackson, Tommy Johnson, Andy Walker.

Bhoys World Cup hopes stay alive

Celtic fans Shay Given and Damien Duff are still on course for a place at the World Cup Finals after last night's nervous 2-1 win over Cyprus.


Skipper Robbie Keane's 83rd minute header won the points for Giovanni Trappatoni's side after Aiden McGeady had appeared as a 66th minute substitute.

It was a difficult surface for McGeady to make an impact on but after making a habit of losing points to late goals last night's win was especially welcome.

Kevin Doyle had given Ireland the lead in the fifth minute but it was no surprise when Cyprus equalised on the half hour when left-back Elia sent an unstoppable shot past Given.

For reasons best known to themselves the home side barely posed any threat after the break but Ireland toiled to create chances and it looked like two precious qualification points may be slipping by.

Caleb Folan replaced Doyle with fifteen minutes left to play as a more direct route was employed with wingers Duff and McGeady getting little joy from the flanks.

With time running out the Cypriot keeper Sofronis Avgousti took a kamikaze type run off his line leaving Keane with an open goal to head Duff's cross into the net for his 40th international goal.

The points keep Ireland in second place in the group ahead of their October 10 clash with group leaders Italy at Croke Park.

Great article on former Celtic youth team keeper Shay Given.

Stubbs joins Masters squad

Local bhoy Alan Stubbs will join the Celtic squad for tonight's bid to win the British Masters alongwith Tommy Johnson.

It's the first time that Stubbs has played in the Masters while Johnson has been in the side a couple of times for the Scottish event.

Skipper Tom Boyd leads a strong side into the Liverpool event after victory at the Scottish Masters in July.

Celtic face Tranmere in the quarter-finals of the knock out event which hasn't quite provided the organisers high profile names with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United all missing out.

Bolton, QPR and Barnsley have earned their place in the event with the Barnsley squad including former Celts Jim Dobbin and Wayne Biggins.

As a Manchester City player Biggins is a former winner of the Masters while Leicester, who are in tonight's competition, won the Tenerife Masters in December beating the hoops in the final.

The event kicks off on Sky at 7pm.