This Friday morning on The Celtic Way, you can read the first of a two-part exclusive interview with former Hoops winger Derk Boerrigter.

In part one of the Dutchman's conversation with TCW's Tony Haggerty, the ex-Ajax forward discusses the moment he knew his Parkhead days were numbered and his lingering anger over his controversial ban for simulation.

During part two, released on Saturday morning, Boerrigter goes in-depth on the injury issues which plagued his time at Celtic as well as his clashes with the medical staff, finding out he was being targeted by an opposition manager and his entrepreneurial life after football.

Across the whole interview, he covers a wide range of topics such as:

  • His 'sicknote' reputation
  • Becoming a marked man on his debut
  • Falling out with Ronny Deila
  • Being branded a diver by the SFA
  • Enduring two six-month-long injury lay-offs
  • Almost joining up with Erik ten Hag
  • Being forced to play with the youth team
  • Why Glasgow life was for him
  • What he's been up to post-football

You can read a segment of Friday's piece below...

"Neil Lennon signed me at Celtic but, within a year, there was a manager change and Ronny Deila came to the group,” Boerrigter tells TCW before going on to divulge some of the comments he made to his new manager concerning his role in the team.

“He didn’t like my comments," the Dutchman admits. "I knew then that my career at Celtic was probably over.

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"He eventually pulled me out of the team and told me that he had no room for me the next season. I told him that was perfectly fine and I did not have a problem with that and I would leave.

"The club sometimes gave me a bit of a hard time as well. I think Celtic tried to force me to quit so they could cancel my contract."

If you're not a subscriber and want to read Boerrigter's comments to Deila, how the manager responded and what life was like at the club for the Dutchman afterwards, you can sign up here and get two months of full access to The Celtic Way for only £2.

Alongside this two-part Big Interview with Derk Boerrigter, you will gain access to our industry-leading Celtic coverage that includes incisive opinion columns, StatsBomb data analysis, long-read features and much, much more.