Celtic coach John Collins insists Nir Bitton is staying at Parkhead
Wednesday 9 December 2015 13:56, UK
Celtic coach John Collins insists Nir Bitton will not be distracted by suggestions he could be the next player to leave for the Premier League.
The Israeli midfielder's agent recently refuted quotes attributed to him suggesting Bitton was on his way out of Celtic Park and Collins has no doubts he will remain committed to the club.
"He is a very level-headed young man, very focused, he knows his job is to train and play for Celtic," said Collins.
"Nir signed a five-year contract. He has been a terrific player for us. He has had a fantastic 12 months and hopefully he will have many more for Celtic.
"He is a terrific young boy to work with and I know he is enjoying playing for Celtic."
Collins was speaking at Glasgow Airport as the Hoops prepared to fly to Turkey for their final Europa League group match with Fenerbahce.
Celtic's 2-1 defeat at home to Ajax on matchday five means they cannot qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
But Collins is determined they should still play for pride, with manager Ronny Deila expected to name a strong side in Istanbul.
"There is a lot at stake for the boys. There is pride and it is another European game," said Collins.
"We want to try to finish the campaign with a good performance and victory. We will be playing our strongest team.
"There are always ifs and buts, but the reality is we never got the results we needed and wanted. We can't qualify but we want to put in a good performance and try to get a result.
"We have already assessed the games we have had. We know we have made mistakes and errors and we know we have to get better.
"We will try to defend better than we have in previous games and of course try to score goals. It is preparation for next season."
And Collins refused to be drawn on speculation linking Celtic with Aston Villa forward Libor Kozak.
Manager Ronny Deila watched the Czech Republic international score both goals in Villa U21s 2-1 victory over Derby on Monday but Collins said: "Nothing is moving on that as far as I have heard.
Asked if the 26-year-old was a player the club were interested in signing, he added: "There's nothing imminent... but we are looking to strengthen all over the park."
