Source: FOOTYMAD
Given Wants To Replace Forster At Celtic
Former Toon goalkeeper Shay Given says a switch to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League with Celtic would not be a step down for him. Alan Pardew wants Fraser Forster to return to Newcastle following the end of his loan spell, insisting his 6ft 7" goalkeeper will not be returning to Scotland because "the quality of the league is so poor". Given has spent most of the season warming the bench as second choice behind Joe Hart at Eastlands. He is desperate to be playing regular first-team football again and has long been linked with a return to Parkhead, where he spent three years in the youth team in the early 1990s. Celtic boss Neil Lennon: "Shay Given is a top, top goalkeeper" but acknowledged he would cost a lot of money to recruit. Shay Given: "It's no secret I'm a big Celtic supporter and have been all my life. I don't know what their goalkeeping situation is. "Fraser Forster had a very good season up there and there has been talk of him moving on a permanent basis so we would have to wait and see. But it is a fantastic club with fantastic supporters. "Ideally, I would like to be playing but it's out of my hands. If Manchester City want me, I've got another two years left on my contract. I don't really know what's going to happen. "At the moment, I'm focused on the Scotland game on Sunday and then the game against Macedonia [Euro 2012 qualifier on June 4]. "After that we will see what comes up - if there are options to play somewhere. If not, I'll go back to Manchester City pre-season and get my head down and go again." "The SPL would not be a step down. Not if you're playing with Celtic, it's not. "It's a great club, with an unbelievable history, so I wouldn't look at it as a step down. It's a fantastic club but it's too soon to say what's going to happen or if that's going to happen. "But you never say never when Celtic come calling."
