Brown defends stance over the Di Canio affair

Brown insisted that he stood by anything he had said, adding that he had done everything in the best interests of the club. ''The supporters can be certain that I have had their interests and those of this club at heart at all times. I am comfortable with the replies I gave to everybody concerned in the media.''

That may be so, but the general manager's utterances did seem to indicate that the Italian player who, he said originally, ''would be put out of the game for the next three years of his contract'' when Di Canio continued his thinly disguised manipulation of a journey towards the English Premiership, had succeeded in engineering his way out of Glasgow.

Managing director Fergus McCann insisted that the deal involving the selling of Di Canio, with Blinker in the equation, had been done on the recommendation of Brown, with his wholehearted approval.

Said Brown: ''The deal I did with Sheffield was based on the fact that we wanted Blinker.

''We tried very hard to get him without losing Di Canio because Wim Jansen's hope was to have both on the wings.

''However, it became clear that the key to signing Blinker was selling Di Canio and that is why, in the end, we have made this transfer.

''I have to say that the deal originally was that Sheffield Wednesday would be given permission to talk to Di Canio at the same time as I would be given the opportunity to try to persuade him to stay here.

''It never came about because he did not turn up.

In the end it became clear that the only possibility of getting Blinker would be by allowing Di Canio to go.

''The deal I did was that, as long as I could deliver Di Canio for them to talk to, which until yesterday afternoon, I was not sure I could do - it didn't happen until half past eight at night - the transfer of Blinker could fall apart. We wanted to buy Blinker and keep Di Canio. Eventually that turned out not to be possible.''

Brown insisted that, in the end, Di Canio was available only as a ''trading tool'' but, bearing in mind that he had begun the close season by saying that he was prepared to force the Italian to sit out his three-year contract on the sidelines, the change of heart is radical enough, if not entirely predictable.

''Given the chance, I would have tried very hard to persuade Di Canio to stay here, but I did not get the opportunity to do so. I had said we would review his position on an on-going basis and that is what we have done.''

Brown angrily refuted the accusation that he had ''led people up the garden path. ''I sat here yesterday and answered questions for more than two hours. I started off by saying I had nothing more to say about Di Canio, but I was hit with a barrage of questions about him.

''I did not shirk a question. If Di Canio had not appeared at Sheffield, everything could have fallen apart and for that reason, I could not talk about it at that stage.''

He was equally adamant that the Parkhead support would understand his motives.

''The fans will have to know this and I expect them to believe this: there is nothing I do in this building, nothing I do that is designed other than in the best interests of them and Celtic Football Club.

''In the circumstances, I could not talk about Di Canio's situation because if he had not shown up at Sheffield where would that have left us in the eyes of other clubs who had shown interest in this player?

''Part of the arrangement with Sheffield was that they would be given exclusive rights to talk to him .''

McCann, who spent much of the time looking in from the outside, did say that as far as he was concerned, he was disappointed that Di Canio, whom he brought to Parkhead and for whom he had great admiration as a footballer, had treated the club and fans with contempt.

''I can't say if he deliberately manipulated things to suit himself, but overall it has been an unfortunate loss for us.

''In the end, the trade-off today makes us better off than we were yesterday. Whether Di Canio gets another five dollars at Sheffield does not concern me.

''He could be sitting in Rome being fined and not playing football.

''Now we have a problem in the dressing room solved. We have a player who wants to be here, and the right kind of deal done.''

Di Canio was unusually restrained in his comments when he was welcomed at Sheffield later in the afternoon.

He kept clear of any further controversial anti-McCann comments. He restricted it to: ''I loved Celtic and I loved their fans, but sometimes a love affair has to end. I wanted to stay, but I had to think about my future.

''I am happy that all of my problems with Celtic are now behind me and I can look forward to a good season with Sheffield Wednesday. They have made a big investment in me and for this I can promise 100% in return."