Kenny Dalglish is likely to quit as Celtic's director of football after it was confirmed that the club's chief executive Allan MacDonald had talked with him about a severance deal.
Appointed to the post when John Barnes arrived last summer, Dalglish has been imperilled ever since the club embarked on their quest to find a new manager. Martin O'Neill arrived at Parkhead last week saying he wanted "full control of all football matters".
Dalglish, who earns Stg£600,000 a year from Celtic, had been said to be on a seven-year contract, but this has proved to be fanciful. His pay-out, if the parting occurs, may be for as little as half that amount.
Even before O'Neill's arrival, relations between Dalglish and Celtic had become frosty. He took charge of the team in the wake of Barnes' sacking in February and they won only eight out of 16 games.
At a club bent on improving their image, a series of Dalglish-inspired PR disasters incensed the Parkhead directors. The most notable was his decision to hold pre-match press conferences in Glasgow pubs. These and other tensions led to Dalglish's last weeks of the season being marked by acrimony.
O'Neill did not rule out working with Dalglish, but if he does stay Celtic have been urging him to accept reduced terms to reflect his changed role. Dalglish has resisted taking a drop in salary and the upshot, it appeared yesterday, was inevitable separation.
"Kenny has been a good servant to Celtic and has the club at heart, but things have changed radically since last summer," said a Celtic director. "Whatever happens we want these things to be handled with dignity. The club, we hope, will make an announcement soon."
Dunfermline have called off their proposed move for Liverpool defender Phil Babb.
Their chairman John Yorkston admitted that wage demands had been a major stumbling block for the ambitious Premier League newcomers.
Leeds United's England midfielder David Batty will miss the start of the season after undergoing an operation on his Achilles tendon.
Romania playmaker Gheorghe Hagi has been asked to take over as manager of Turkish champions Galatasaray, according to reports in his country. Galatasaray, who won the UEFA Cup after beating Arsenal on penalties, have lost manager Fatih Terim to Italian Serie A side Fiorentina.
The executive committee of international football's governing body, FIFA, adopted a new calendar yesterday bringing together international and national programmes.
The new calendar, due to be launched for the 2004-2005 season, is: January 1st to 15th: holidays; January 16th to February 15th: international competitions, or training. February 16th to December 15th: 12 dates reserved for FIFA competitions (eight for official matches and four for friendlies), 16 dates reserved for competitions organised by continental federations and 46 dates reserved for national league and cup matches; June 16th to July 31st: World Cup or players' holidays; July 16th to August 15th: two weeks reserved for basic players' training; December 16th to 31st: holidays. The English Premier League will not be forced into adopting a midwinter break.
Manchester United are eyeing Athletic Bilbao's attacking midfielder Joseba Etxeberria, according to reports in Spain. The 22-year-old has scored six goals in 24 appearances for Spain.
The Football Association of Wales will give Mark Hughes the green light to carry on playing for Everton until the summer of 2002 later this week when his revised contract is rubberstamped at a committee meeting.
