John Hartson has slammed Kris Boyd for “talking nonsense” about a split in the Celtic dressing room and insisted the ex-Bear is simply trying to “rattle” Rangers’ bitter rivals.
The Kilmarnock striker claimed recently the Hoops’ changing room is split in two as Olivier Ntcham and Dedryck Boyata try to follow Moussa Dembele through the exit door.
But former Celtic striker Hartson claimed Boyd is well wide of the mark and that he is simply trying to cause some hassle for Rangers’ bitter rival as the row over the team’s start to the campaign over takes a new twist.
“I know Kris Boyd and I respect him and what he has done as a player but I have to say he is talking nonsense about a split in the Celtic dressing room,” Hartson told the Glasgow Evening Times.
“To me it is pretty simple; his old team (Rangers) look as though they have turned a corner. They are playing a little bit of football and the garden is rosy at the minute for Steven Gerrard.
“And I think Kris is looking to rattle Celtic’s cage. He is wanting to noise people up.
“I just think Kris has a platform now because he has his eyes on a career as a pundit and columnist when his playing time comes to an end. And for that you need to have an opinion and have something to say so this is him looking to get a few tongues wagging – and irritate Celtic in the process.”
OPINION
Is Boyd talking nonsense? Maybe not, John. Celtic might have demolished St Johnstone last weekend but theirs has not appeared a content dressing room this season. Boyata tried to engineer an exit before falling back in line, while Ntcham has been a shadow of the player he was before Porto bid £13million for him at the end of August. Boyd is not the only pundit to raise questions about a divide between the French speakers and non-French speakers in the Hoops dressing room. Others have said the same. That said, Hartson does have a point about Boyd’s burgeoning media career. He has a no-holds-barred tabloid media column in which he dishes out the punches on a weekly basis and he is an equally straight-shooter during his frequent television punditry appearances. Aged 35, the striker is understandably working on his post-playing career, and that could come sooner rather than later now he has lost his regular starting role at Kilmarnock.