Celtic boss Neil Lennon admits Aiden McGeady’s switch to Spartak Moscow will leave a massive hole in his squad, although he is in talks with Manchester City over Craig Bellamy (Celtic 8/11f – SPL Outright).

The new Bhoys chief is desperate to wrestle the SPL crown back from Old Firm rivals Rangers (11/10) this season, but he will have to do it without the winger on board.

Republic of Ireland star McGeady has moved to the Russian capital for a fee of £9.5m which should allow Lennon to draft in some replacements for the 24-year-old, with Bellamy wanted on loan.

The Wales international has been left out of City’s 25-man squad for the Premier League although Spurs are thought to be in the chase for him as well.

But Lennon still believes the loss of McGeady will be a big blow to loyal Hoops supporters.

He said: “I’m sorry to lose him, he is one of the entertainers in the game.

“We’ll probably miss out on his peak years but he came to us and said that he felt at the end of the season it would be better for him to move on.

“It’s difficult to stand in the way of someone who doesn’t want to be here.”

Lennon is hoping Bellamy’s relationship with the Celtic fans will help him land his man.

He added: “When you see someone of the calibre of Craig and the fact that he’s not in the 25 and he’s looking to go out and play football, then we feel it’s something that we can’t try and miss out on.

“We’ve been speaking to his representatives and we’ve been speaking to Man City.

“How far down the line we are will be down to Craig obviously.

“But the advantage we have is that, one, it’s not in the Premier League and, two, he has been here before and he enjoyed his time here and made a huge impact on the game up here and has a real connection with the supporters.”

Celtic kick off their Scottish Premier League campaign at Inverness on Saturday (Inverness 7/1, draw 16/5, Celtic 2/5 – 90 minutes).

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