Gordon Strachan has hit back at Jackie McNamara following his move from Celtic.
Celtic boss Gordon Strachan has hit back at Jackie McNamara following his departure from Parkhead.McNamara left Celtic earlier this week to join Wolves under a bit of cloud.
The Scottish international insisted that Celtic did not do enough to keep him when his contract expired and that Wolves showed more desire to sign him.
Strachan has denied the suggestions and admitted he was disappointed to see McNamara leave the club.
"That could not be further from the truth," said Strachan of claims he did not talk of a deal with McNamara.
"Jackie was the first player I spoke to face to face after arriving here and I made it clear not only that I wanted him at the club but what I expected from him over the next couple of seasons.
"But while it's disappointing the outcome isn't what we would have wished, it's not fair to say Jackie wasn't wanted here. He was more than wanted.
"We did what we could in the circumstances and I've no problems with the way (chief executive) Peter (Lawwell) and the club handled it.
"There was negotiating taking place but that's only to be expected. After all, if every player who came in got exactly what he demanded, all hell would break loose.
"Everything appeared to be progressing quite well in the discussions until all of a sudden we got a call on Monday to say that if Jackie didn't get what he wanted by five o'clock he'd be off.
"That was unexpected and in all the years I've had in management, I cannot remember a player setting a deadline like that.
"But we reacted to it, even though squeezing the timescale was far from ideal, and agreed before the deadline to give him an increased offer.
"I thought that was it done but then his agent came back asking for a lot more. Then we got a call at six o'clock on Monday to say Jackie would be signing for Wolves. It goes without saying I'm disappointed because he was very much part of my plans here.
"Although we are disappointed Jackie has left Celtic, I'd like to say we do wish him well for the future at Wolves."
