Boyhood Glasgow Rangers fan Scott Allan claims he has been subject to as much banter as belligerence since signing for Celtic.
Hibernian rejected several bids from the Ibrox club for the midfielder during the transfer window – not wanting to see him move to a rival Championship club – and the transfer saga ended with a controversial twist when he signed a four-year deal with the Scottish Premiership champions, with the fee reported to be around £275,000 (Dh1.5m).
Speaking at Celtic Park where he was publicising the upcoming Europa League games against Ajax, Molde and Fenerbahce, the 23-year-old spoke about his first few weeks at the Parkhead club.
“It has not been too bad,” said Allan. “I thought it might have been a bit worse, but it has been fine.
“I have kept my head down and got on with my football.
“There have been a couple of things said but nothing too bad, there hasn’t been any malice.
“There has been a lot of humour to be fair, with friends of friends and all that but I knew it was coming so it has not affected me at all to be honest.
“It is just good to be at a big club.”
Ronny Deila’s side dropped out of the Champions League after a 4-3 aggregate defeat in their play-off to Malmo.
However, former Dundee United and West Bromwich Albion player Allan believes there is more than enough in the Europa League to keep the players and fans engaged.
He said: “The Champions League was a bit of a disappointment as we didn’t go through but obviously Fenerbahce and Ajax are big European clubs so there are some big fixtures there and there are still teams to drop out the Champions League so potentially there are some really good games there for the fans.
“We just have to get through the group. Fenerbahce has a really strong team, Ajax have been doing well so hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves and pick up some points.”
Allan has only had a couple of substitute appearances since joining Celtic and is waiting patiently to take his chance.
He said: “There a lot of games coming up so I think everybody will get a chance and it is up to me to take my chance when given it.
“When I signed I said I needed to be patient and I will wait for my chance to come.”
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Marital status: Separated with two young daughters
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
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When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
