Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara has revealed that Gary Mackay-Steven was set to play from the start of Saturday’s postponed game against Inverness.
Just 24 hours before the match was called off because of concerns about frozen areas of the pitch, Celtic announced that “GMS” had signed a pre-contract agreement with the Hoops.
Mackay-Steven is now due to move to Parkhead once his contract with the Tangerines ends in the summer.
However, earlier last week, Celtic boss Ronny Deila had stated that he would like the 24-year-old to move to Glasgow during this current transfer window.
Those comments had irked the United manager, who said on Friday: “He shouldn’t be speaking about that.
“I’m not comfortable with it. I don’t think it’s right to speak publicly about it.
“He’s got his own way of doing things but I wouldn’t want to speak about one of his players under contract.”
With Mackay-Steven very much in the full glare of the spotlight, it would have been understandable if McNamara had decided to rest the player for the ICT match.
However, the manager insisted that he had no qualms about playing the mercurial winger.
Speaking shortly after Saturday’s game was called off, McNamara said: “Yes, he was going to play from the start.”
When asked if he had a chat with the player after Celtic released their statement on Friday, he replied: “Yes. I have said since pre-season that I expected to lose him.
“I knew this would be his last season here and nothing has changed as far as I’m concerned.
“He is our player until the summer regardless of other people saying they want him now or he should go now.
“He has an important part to play for us in the remainder of what will hopefully be a successful season for us.”
McNamara also spoke of his frustration after the Inverness game was called off.
A local senior referee took the decision at 11.30 on Saturday morning after making what was his second inspection of the pitch.
Most of the playing surface was fine with the Tannadice undersoil heating having been on since Thursday.
However, the goalmouths were still frozen solid and the decision was taken to postpone the match.
It was a big blow for the United manager who was looking for his side to build on the momentum gathered during their recent three-game unbeaten spell.
McNamara said: “It is really frustrating as we wanted to keep the good run going.
“We have scored 11 goals in three games so it is disappointing it has been called off.
“This now adds to the backlog of games that need to be played.
“It will have to be rescheduled along with the Aberdeen game.
“Like everybody else, you want to keep the momentum going.
“We were going to change things around again against Inverness looking towards Wednesday as well.
“So it is disappointing as the whole pitch is fine apart from the two goalmouths where there is no grass.
“The undersoil heating is on but with there being no grass in those areas it is just like concrete at the moment.
“We will do a little bit of training with the players but as I said there is that frustration that 90% of the pitch is fine.
“It affects everything like the hospitality and the players, looking towards Wednesday as well.
“It’s just very frustrating.”
The club also issued a statement which included the news that fans attending the rescheduled fixture will just have to pay £5 at the turnstiles to watch the game.
A club spokesperson said: “Naturally we’re very disappointed the game can’t go ahead due to the sub-zero temperatures we have experienced overnight.
“Despite taking every precaution and our undersoil heating being on since first thing on Thursday morning, there are patches of the pitch that are a safety hazard for the players particularly in and around the goalmouth areas.
“We don’t want to take any chances with player safety and as such, while we wanted to give the game as much chance to happen as possible, we also wanted to give fans adequate notice to save unnecessary travel.
“We have also decided that, as a goodwill gesture in appreciation of the effort being made by supporters at this time of year, we will let supporters of Inverness and Dundee United attend the rescheduled fixture for £5.”