£9m Celtic transfer collapse sparks Slovan civil war as star REFUSES to celebrate after move torpedoed

David Strelec almost joined Celtic but the move was torpedoed and he's not a happy bunny

Huffy Celtic target David Strelec REFUSED to celebrate after scoring in his big Slovan Bratislava comeback – after his move to Parkhead collapsed.

And the club's irked sporting director has warned him to get his head together as a result. The Slovakian international was strongly linked with a move to both Celtic and Middlesbrough just before the transfer deadline and was one of the strikers Brendan Rodgers was eyeing to replace Kyogo. But the move failed to materialised with Slovan holding out for £9million, which no club was willing to pay.

Strelec was initially left out of Slovan's next game because he wasn't mentally ready to feature, but returned and scored for the club in their 5-1 league win at Ruzomberok this week. But he refused to celebrate his goal and made it clear he was still bitter about a move elsewhere collapsing. He said: "I don't think other clubs will really be interested in a Slovakian League match in Ruzomberok.... I think I am at the peak of my form and have never played better. But some things I can't control."

But that brought an irritated response from Slovan legend Robert Vittek., who is now sports director. He responded saying: "Of course David is sorry, he wanted to go abroad. As a player, I experienced much worse and then much better came. If he continues to perform like this in the league and national team and is well-adjusted in his mind, he will definitely make it.

"The scouts from clubs won't care the game was in Ruzomberok, but they do care about David's form. He has to get his head straight first though. Of course he will be disappointed, you could feel a little frustration from him. But I want to emphasise that no one kept David here. We wanted to make the transfer happen, but there was simply not enough time."