Soccer: Frank McAvennie believes Aiden McGeady's Celtic career is over but has backed the winger to be a success south of the border.
The former Hoops striker believes there is no way back for the player following a dressing-room bust-up with manager Gordon Strachan.
McGeady has been fined and suspended from first-team activities for a fortnight, meaning he will miss this weekend's crucial Old Firm derby.
And McAvennie believes the highly-rated Republic of Ireland international is now set for a January exit.
He said: "I think he is finished at Celtic and while I would love to see him at Manchester United, that is not going to happen.
"He could do a job at Hull or West Ham, he would be a wonderful player for those clubs. I've seen him play for Ireland against top-class defenders and he has been the star man.
"He is a talent and the manager has to nurse that talent along. That's not happening with Gordon and Aiden.
"It would be better for everyone if he went in January. But sometimes it's only when you leave that you find out how big Celtic, or Rangers for that matter, are.
"Wee Barry (Ferguson) left for Blackburn and did magnificently but Rangers are his club. Shaun Maloney went to Villa and didn't cut it, so it is not as easy as you think.
"But Aiden is a talent and he would do all right. I think he will knuckle down and go to a team where he is going to play rather than sit on the bench."
The feud between Strachan and McGeady is the second high-profile row between a manager and player to be witnessed by Scottish football this season, following Kris Boyd's decision to quit Scotland while George Burley remains at the helm.
Despite the fall-out, national team assistant boss Terry Butcher has backed the Rangers striker to find the back of the net against Celtic on Saturday after taking his tally for the season to 18 at the weekend.
"The form he is in you wouldn't bet against him scoring on Saturday," Butcher said.
"He scores all kinds of goals; spectacular ones, free-kicks, overhead kicks and headers and gets in the box. If you get the ball in the box he will get on the end of it."
McAvennie and Butcher both famously ended up in court, along with Chris Woods and Graham Roberts, following a particularly fiery clash between the Glasgow giants back in 1987, but they put their past differences behind them to promote Setanta's live coverage of the Old Firm derby.
"Hopefully, on Saturday, a couple of boys will be sent off and taken to court - then you can stop talking to us about it!" joked McAvennie.
"You do what you've got to do to win a game. We get on well.
"The four of us were in court all week and I was the only one who enjoyed it because I never trained all week and I got off with it and started laughing.
"Terry says: 'I've got a criminal record because of you.' I asked him: 'Do you want to swap?"'
