Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has spoken of his disappointment at missing out on enticing Dwight Yorke to Parkhead.
The striker had been close to signing for the Scottish champions ahead of last week's transfer deadline but at the last minute opted to join Birmingham when he left Blackburn instead. It left O'Neill without a new face in a squad that is about to take on Henrik Larsson's Barcelona in the Champions League.
He told Celtic View: "I am disappointed but only because I felt we could have done with that little bit of extra quality.
"There were a number of players I was pursuing prior to the deadline and Dwight Yorke was certainly one that I was hopeful we would get.
"I thought we had a chance anyway, largely because no-one else seemed to be interested at that particular time.
"He had a year left to run on his contract, we agreed to take that over, and everything seemed fine.
"But Birmingham City obviously came in at the last minute and perhaps because he has a lot of friends and family around that particular area from his time in Aston Villa, he decided to go there.
"We did make him what I consider to be a very sensible offer."