Bhoys ready to cash in on duo

26 January 2010 16:38
Middlesbrough are reportedly interested in taking the Hoops' club captain on loan while Burnley boss Brian Laws is looking to buy former Coventry left-back Fox.[LNB]While McManus has been mostly out of favour since Mowbray took over from Gordon Strachan in the summer, Fox was brought to Celtic Park in the close season for a reported fee of £1.5million and has been a regular when fit.[LNB]The former Hibs and West Brom boss explained that neither move has anything to do with the players' respective abilities, but would allow him to further refurbish his squad - the latest addition to which is striker Morten Rasmussen, who arrived on a three-and-a-half year deal from Brondby for an undisclosed fee.[LNB]"I am not resigned to losing Stephen," he said.[LNB]"I think it is an opportunity for him.[LNB]"I will put on record what a fantastic man he is and what a fantastic player he has been for this club and if this deal doesn't happen he will be back on the training ground and striving to get himself in the team.[LNB]"He is a great leader of men and they are in shortage but this is an opportunity for him and something that he is exploring and we will wait and see what develops.[LNB]"I have just brought in two young centre-halves recently (Josh Thompson and Thomas Rogne), I have brought in Jos Hooiveld, who is left-footed, and I have Darren O'Dea back from Reading.[LNB]"If he goes, I'm sure he will do very well.[LNB]"If he doesn't go, as I said, he will be competing to be in the team and I wouldn't put it past Stephen to see him at the heart of our defence for the rest of the season."[LNB]Mowbray then waxed lyrical about Fox, saying: "An opportunity has arisen for Danny.[LNB]"I get on very well with Brian Laws, I played with him at Middlesbrough many years ago, we had a conversation and I put the opportunity to Danny. It allows me a bit of flexibility in this window to move things around.[LNB]"But what I will say about Danny Fox, if nothing happens at Burnley for Danny then there is every chance that as soon as he is fit and available - he's a week or so away now - he will be featuring at left-back in the next game because he is a quality footballer."[LNB]Asked if he considered Fox's time at Celtic to have been a success, Mowbray replied: "I think so. He's a player of high quality but I have to make decisions.[LNB]"I have Paul Caddis, Lee Naylor, Darren O'Dea and Mark Wilson, who has played Champions League football at left-back. So there's four players who can play left-back.[LNB]"It's about flexibility for me and trying to prioritise the squad."[LNB]Mowbray expects new signing Rasmussen to make an appearance at some stage in the Scottish Premier League clash with Hibernian at Celtic Park.[LNB]"There's a fair chance Morten will be in the squad of 18 and a fair chance he will be on the pitch," he said. "I am delighted that we could add to the options up front.[LNB]"He's a different type of striker to the ones that we have got.[LNB]"Hopefully, given the opportunity, he can score goals which will obviously help the team."[LNB]On the subject of Motherwell's Paul Slane, a reported target of Mowbray, the Celtic boss said: "Paul Slane is a young player who is not in my domain. [LNB]"There are other parts of the football club who would be dealing with Motherwell and it's not something I would get involved in."[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk