Paolo Di Canio has opened up on his move to Celtic, claiming a love of the game Subbuteo played a role in the transfer.

The Italian spent one season at Parkhead, netting 15 goals across 37 games in the 1996/97 campaign before departing for Sheffield Wednesday due to a dispute over wages and bonuses.

And the 55-year-old has detailed how the move came about.

He told the Up Front podcast: "Andrea Stramaccioni phoned me in Italy and said 'Paolo, you have another week there, I don't want you to fight every day because Celtic, they still want you’.

"I say I still have a one-year contract to go, it's the time to move...I say I go to Celtic because Tommy Burns for two years wanted me, and this person who wants me there, is desperate in some way, I'm curious. I want to go.

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"I used to play Subbuteo when I was younger with this incredible shirt I had never seen before, the green and white, I say I will go.

"I didn't have one moment where I maybe thought - I went there in August and it was already cold - someone would say I should go back to Italy.

"But I said I want to be here, to stay here because with this weather I can fight better. I can play. It was the warmest welcome from the fans which made all the difference.

"If I had any doubt, that disappeared in an instant. Parkhead, the stadium, was amazing."