Stephen McManus and Barry Robson have sacrificed a family holiday and coaching course to join Middlesbrough’s pre-season training camp in La Manga.
McManus’s decision to re-join Boro would seem like a very clear sign that he is keen to rejoin Gordon Strachan on a permanent basis.
After finishing the Championship season McManus returned to Celtic and watched the 2-1 win over Rangers uncertain as to where his future lies after his first ever taste of life away from Celtic.
At that time he admitted: “What I do know is that I have really enjoyed my time down here, it’s really opened my eyes to life outside Glasgow. It’s been first class.
“Whether I go back to Celtic, somewhere else or I stay here I’ll be playing with a spring in my step and it’s because of this club.”
Strachan appointed McManus as Celtic captain and is delighted with the defender’s decision to re-join ‘Boro on their pre-season programme.
“It’s great news that Stephen will be joining us,” the former Celtic boss admitted. “Stephen and his wife were going on holiday to New York but football comes first in the McManus household.
“We need players with mental strength and Stephen has that. He wants to keep fit and he sums up what a real football professional does.”
Strachan’s love for old fashioned values is never far from his conversation, his admiration for the dedicated player, even to the detriment of family life, is matched by his contempt for ned culture and the ‘kestral-drinking’ generation.
Adding to the number of married men that he inherited at the Riverside Stadium was an early requirement with McManus, Robson, Scott McDonald and Chris Killen all meeting that criteria.
Robson has been Strachan’s most successful signing for ‘Boro with the midfielder quickly finding his feet in the Championship and rediscovering the goal touch that was a feature of his performances at Dundee United.
The midfielders’ decision to cancel a coaching course has also met with his demanding manager’s approval.
“Barry Robson cancelled a coaching course he was due to attend,” Strachan added.
“I understand both Barry and Stephen had made these arrangements some time ago, before they even joined Middlesbrough, but both cancelled them straight away.”
Strikers Chris Killen and Scott McDonald have found a way of escaping from the early return to pre-season training by preparing for the World Cup.
Killen is a certain starter for New Zealand and scored in their 2-1 defeat from Australia but McDonald’s place in the Socceroos squad is less secure.
Injuries curtailed McDonald’s to just 13 appearances after moving to Middlesbrough which brought four goals.
Strangely the striker has still to score his first international goal despite winning 17 caps and drew a blank in the win over New Zealand.
McDonald could easily have opted to play for Scotland but it’s hard to find a more patriotic Aussie than the former Celtic and Motherwell striker.
Missing out on a World Cup place would be devastating for McDonald, hopefully he’s just saving that first international goal for the biggest stage of all.
