Jansen accuses Brown of lies

The Dutchman revealed that, early on in the season, he had asked Brown not to tell any more lies about him; that he had been very saddened by the sacking of David Hay and the revelation this week by chairman Fergus McCann that Jansen would have been sacked if he had not resigned; and that the celebrations of the fans last Saturday was ''the best thing that has ever happened to me.''

In fact, the coach claimed that it was only the Celtic supporters that kept him determined to see the season out. Detailing his reasons for making his mind up very early on that he would not stay beyond one season at Parkhead, Jansen reiterating that he was unable to work with Brown.

He went on to say that he, his assistant Murdo MacLeod, and chief scout Hay, had named as many as 20 strikers they had identified as being ideal targets for the club. ''None of them came to Celtic because we were told they were too expensive,'' Jansen said.

Brown responded by saying: ''I never told Wim at any time that any player was too expensive.''

None the less, Jansen gave one name as an example. ''Karl Heinz Riedle, of Borussia Dortmund, was one and we asked to get him two weeks before he went to Liverpool,'' he said. ''I felt he would be ideal to play with Henrik Larsson. We were asked to find out if he was fit and, through Paul Lambert, we were told he was. Celtic did not even make a phone call.''

Brown's retort was unambiguous: ''That is a lie. I found out not only that he was available but what price he was. We were concerned that the player was 30 and did not fit in with the general policy that we had about signing players of that age.''

Nevertheless, Jansen alleged: ''Sometimes I had to fight harder against my own people than I did against our opponents.''

He turned to the accusation by Celtic that he had not been co-operative, particularly in helping plan the future and in following club policy to watch players before they were signed. ''How could I plan for the future when they would not tell me how much I would have to spend?'' he said. ''I could tell you what Rangers have to spend next season, but I can't tell you what I had.''

Brown insisted that, in a modern club, the procedures have to be businesslike and entail a more structured approach than Jansen was prepared to accept.

Meanwhile, back at the court of Wim, the Brattbakk question was raised. ''They say I would not go to see Harald Brattbakk, but I didn't go to see five of the players we signed,'' he said. ''In the case of Darren Jackson, I didn't even see any videos of him, although Jock Brown told a press conference I had. After that, I told him not to tell any more lies about me.'' In this at least there was agreement, Brown acknowledging that he had misled people inadvertently. ''I apologised to him saying I thought he had seen the videos,'' he said.

Brown maintains that the policy for managers to see highly-priced targets is entirely justified. ''It is surely reasonable to expect that he will see players for himself if a major investment is to be made in him,'' he said.

Looking back at the acrimonious ending to his reign, Jansen said: '' I didn't think I deserved to be treated like that after what I had done for the club.'' He made the point that, from the first day he joined the players in Holland in the pre-season training camp, he, MacLeod and Hay tried to get players for the club. ''During the season, we had to change our minds very often because we couldn't get them,'' he said.

''I was told, for example, that Paul Lambert, who I wanted from the start, would be here before the European deadline on August 15. We didn't get him until November.'' According to Brown, that was ''a black lie''. ''I said that, if he was signed before August 10, Motherwell would be due money, but it was made clear to us that Borussia wanted to keep the player until after their European commitments and that is what happened.''

Jansen said that it had been a very frustrating time right through the season, but he did not want to cause trouble because he had to concentrate on trying to win the league. ''The supporters kept me going: we play the game for the supporters, not for McCann, Jock Brown or whoever,'' he said. ''Maybe it would be better if the fans are told what they can really expect. Their expectations may be too high and they will only be disappointed in the future.''

Jansen said that the last time he spoke to Brown was a few weeks ago when it was revealed that he had a get-out clause and he was accused of leaking the story. ''I didn't tell the press and the man who wrote the story knows that,'' he said.

Did he ever go to McCann and make his point about the relationship with Brown? ''Mr McCann knows about the situation. I had already asked to resign a few weeks after I came here. I told them a few weeks ago that I would be leaving at the end of the season.''

He ended a remarkable discussion by saying: ''Maybe they are happy I am leaving and they are trying to hit me in the back. If they tell stories, I have to defend myself. I can understand why they wanted me to go, because I told them each time what was the real situation and maybe that is what they don't like.''

Brown added: ''With hindsight, my own opinion is that Wim had no intention of staying over one year.'' He emphasised that the two happenings that upset and angered the Parkhead management were Jansen's refusal to co-operate with the plans for next season and ''his breach of contract' when he revealed on the club's own hotline that he did have a get-out clause.

The general manager has drawn up an initial list of candidates for the job as Jansen's successor, which will include Murdo MacLeod, current assistant manager, but did add: ''One man I will rule out immediately is my brother (Craig). He will not be coming to Celtic.''