Celtic have opened talks with Cardiff City over midfielder Willo Flood less than 24 hours after the Dubliner’s penalty miss for Dundee United saw the Hoops into CIS Cup final.

Flood’s second penalty of the night in a marathon shootout cannoned off the crossbar and ultimately gave the Glasgow giants an 11-10 win that booked a meeting with Old Firm rivals Rangers.

Flood was outstanding against his suitors in the preceding 120 minutes and Celtic’s interest in the on-loan youngster remained, despite him revealing his frustration at the “stupid” transfer speculation and accusing Gordon Strachan’s club of being “disrespectful” to Dundee United, while keeping him in the dark.

His former Cardiff teammate Glenn Loovens, who now plays for Celtic, believes Flood is reaping the rewards of a brave move to the SPL.

The Dubliner found a place in the starting line-up hard to come by at Cardiff despite having made 18 first-team appearances for Manchester City.

He sought to further his career at Tannadice and Loovens has noticed an improvement following an 18-month loan spell on Tayside.

“If you play a lot, which he has done recently, you always get better,” Loovens said. “I have seen him a few times now — he is a good player.

“We had a good team at Cardiff. He was a good player back then and he didn’t have to leave.

“But he wanted to play so that’s why he made the choice, and I think it was the right choice for him.”

Strachan confirmed his search for reinforcements was ongoing ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline.

Spartak Moscow and Czech Republic midfielder Radoslav Kovac today claimed he had snubbed Celtic in favour of a proposed move to West Ham.

“The final decision was to choose West Ham over Celtic,” the 29-year-old said. “The prestige of the Premier League tipped the balance.”

Celtic have also been linked with West Brom left-back Marek Cech and Manchester City midfielder Gelson Fernandes, while Eastlands striker Ched Evans is a confirmed target.

But Strachan admits it is “nearly impossible” to compete with English clubs or penetrate the Barclays Premier League transfer market.

“It’s very hard sometimes,” Strachan said. “I would rather not just grab anyone to try and appease people.

“If they come along, they have to be of value to us.”