WHAT with Fergus McCann's thinly-veiled references to the greed of players (or their agents) and Antti Niemi's agent suggesting his man will want to get out, the Christmas season football-style has not been overburdened with goodwill.

Fergus will be accused of undiplomatic language and even shooting himself in the foot after saying things about players out of contract that can only be interpreted as meaning they are asking for cash beyond their rights.

Naturally, the players or their representatives insist this is not the case and, as those of us on the outside cannot tell who is right without having the figures laid before us, the argument has to be centred on whether the managing director damages his team's cause, financially as well as on the park, by saying what he thinks in public.

I have to say that, if Fergus said what he did without considering the financial implications, it would be a first. He has made more than his fair share of mistakes along the way in his turbulent reign at Parkhead, but injudicious statements that would cost him money are not too easy to detect.

However, if Simon Donnelly, Phil O'Donnell, and Mark Burchill leave for nowt at the end of the season, Fergus would have to accept major responsibility for missing out on millions of pounds income.

It has to be seen if his remarks really will bring that scenario into play, but statements that might cause unrest in some parts of the dressing-room are another matter altogether. McCann has never appeared to be unduly concerned about players' reactions to points of critcism - remember the bonus row? - and takes the view that they ought to carry on like highly -paid professionals, whatever wrangles may be on-going.

Whoever is right, it would seem a good idea if they got together and declared the direction in which each would wish to proceed.

If the players truly want to stay with Celtic, there has to be a way of meeting their wishes without disrupting the entire pay structure.

If they wish to go, then they should say so and let the market place decide if it will be sooner rather than later.

Niemi is a different case altogether. Here is a player who has shown admirable restraint, an international goalkeeper who accepted his role as understudy to Andy Goram after he was signed by Walter Smith 18 months ago.

The Finn also bit the bullet and played second fiddle to the keeper signed by Dick Advocaat to replace Goram, French internationalist Lionel Charbonnier.

When Charbonnier suffered a bad knee injury the deputy was called into the front line and had played nine successive games. Now he finds himself relegated to understudy again with the arrival of yet another internationalist, German Stefan Klos.

Maybe there is only so much a player with serious ambitions can take and Niemi, a courteous young man who is about as far from the picture of a prima donna with inflated ego as you can get, may well have reached that point.

The fact is that Dick Advocaat, makes his own judgments ,and he clearly felt the need to bring in a top-class keeper ahead of Niemi.

As he has done it twice so far, it is hard to criticise the Finn if he deduces that he is not likely ever to be the Dutchman's first choice.