Football: Riseth deal signals change

THE CELTIC chairman, Fergus McCann, promised further signings after the Scottish champions paraded their latest recruit, the Norwegian international Vidar Riseth, at Parkhead yesterday.

"There is no lack of activity, but it is important that we are selective," McCann said, responding to recent criticism by supporters disappointed that he had failed to strengthen the team during the summer. "There is no question of holding back any funding for our coach, Jozef Venglos."

Riseth, who plays in midfield, completed his pounds 1.5m move from the Austrian club LASK Linz after signing a four-year contract in Glasgow. Afterwards the 26-year-old Norwegian international explained how the presence of several other Scandinavians at Celtic had attracted him to the club.

The Norwegian striker Harald Brattbakk, Danish World Cup players Marc Rieper and Morten Wieghorst and Swedish forward Henrik Larsson are all playing for Celtic.

"I talked to Harald and he said Celtic were a good club with great fans and this is a nice place to improve my career at such an important stage," said Riseth, who has 10 caps. "I played in two of the games for Norway during the World Cup finals but I knew it was time for me to move on to a bigger club.

"It was important for me to come to a club which can win things and I hope I can help Celtic to win the Scottish championship."

The left-side midfielder moved to Linz in 1996 after a short spell with Luton in England. Before that he was with the Norwegian side Rosenborg Trondheim.

Aberdeen have admitted their disappointment after a transfer tribunal ruled Newcastle must pay them pounds 650,000 for Stephen Glass.

The Dons wanted pounds 1m for the Scotland under-21 and B international midfielder, while Newcastle offered only pounds 100,000. Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne said: "We put forward what we believed was an extremely strong case, but unfortunately the panel decided on a figure somewhere in the middle of what the two clubs were after. While feel we should be receiving more for a player of the calibre of Stephen, we obviously have no option but to abide by the tribunal's finding."