Pearson vows to fight for hoops place
Celtic’s forgotten man Stephen Pearson insists he has no intention of quitting the club.
The Scotland international fell out of favour with manager Martin O’Neill before a double hernia operation and double groin surgery left him having to rebuild his career almost from scratch.
But, as he battles back to the first team, the former Motherwell man is desperate to stay with the club and will only consider his future if he fails to impress new manager Gordon Strachan.
Pearson said: “At this minute I’m in no position to want to leave the club as I’ve not been playing and I’ve been out for a while.
“So I just need to get myself ready and if the manager gives me a chance it’s up to me to take it.
“Obviously if I’m not getting a chance then I’ll need to think about things.”
Pearson moved to Parkhead in January, 2004 and was a key member of the team which went on to win a league and cup double.
His subsequent axing prompted all kinds of rumours, including a bust-up with O’Neill and his assistant John Robertson.
The midfielder denies that suggestion but he is still troubled by why he was ditched with no explanation.
“At the start of last season I wasn’t getting a game,” said Pearson. “The manager obviously felt that other players were doing more than me, which is fair enough as he picks the side.
“The manager never pulled me aside, he just said I wasn’t doing enough, but I wasn’t sure what he meant as I gave all I had in training but he went with other players.
“It was quite baffling as the manager had the faith to sign me from a smaller club and then he played me every week, which was great as I wasn’t expecting to play as many as I did.
“When you get a run like that in the side you want to stay there and I felt a bit hard done by not playing.
“I couldn’t really do anything about it. I was training and playing the same way as I was doing so I was a bit baffled.
“I heard quite a few of the rumours but there was no truth in any of them.
“I was supposed to have punched John Robertson in Barcelona or something.
“The rumours were going about but the people that know me knew they weren’t true. People can say what they like, it’s water off a duck’s back.
“It seems out of character but you never know I’ve got red hair after all.”
But he added: “I’ve got a lot of time for Martin O’Neill as he brought me here and showed a lot of faith in me by playing me so there is no hard feeling.
“If you’re playing it’s fine and the manager is the best thing in the world but if you’re not it’s more difficult.”
