Tony Mowbray has urged Celtic fans to enjoy watching Robbie Keane for the rest of the season as the Parkhead club have little chance of buying him in the summer.
The Republic of Ireland star has scored eight goals in eight games since arriving on loan from Tottenham in January. Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, however, claimed he will not be loaning Keane out again which means Celtic would have to come up with a substantial transfer fee if they want to keep him in Glasgow.
However, ahead of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with St Johnstone at Parkhead, Celtic boss Mowbray said: "Football is very much about finance these days and Robbie Keane is way out of our structure."
Mowbray added: "For me it is about Robbie enjoying his football and hopefully the Celtic fans have enjoyed what he brings and the goals that he brings.
"If it is the case that he goes back to Tottenham at the end of the season all we can do is hope he enjoyed his time at Celtic and contributed some goals, which he already has done, and hopefully some enjoyment for the supporters.
"He cost them (Spurs) £12million. I don't think that our board are going to loosen the purse strings that much.
"I wouldn't dare tell Harry Redknapp what his best options would be, but I do know that Robbie will have benefited from playing regular football and he has shown the quality that he possesses.
"Harry has some pretty special players at his disposal and Robbie is here because Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko were competition for him and obviously he wanted to play. He may face similar challenges when he goes back.
"But when was the last time a Scottish club played £12million for a player? Was it Tore Andre Flo? Those days are long gone in the Scottish game, I think."
Source: PA
