The Celtic Way’s Tony Haggerty recently spoke exclusively to former Hoops winger Derk Boerrigter.

A controversial figure while at Parkhead, the Dutchman’s time at the club was marred by major injury issues, quarrels with club staff and allegations of diving.

During part one of the wide-ranging conversation, Boerrigter discusses the moment he knew his time at Celtic was up, being blocked from joining now Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag back in his homeland and his lingering anger at the SFA’s decision to ban him for simulation.

In part two, released on Saturday morning, the now 36-year-old goes in-depth on the injury issues which plagued his spell at Celtic as well as his early clashes with medical staff, finding out he was being targeted by an opposition manager and his entrepreneurial life after football.

Derk Boerrigter concedes that he knew his days at Celtic were numbered when he fell foul of manager Ronny Deila.

The Dutch winger joined the Hoops for £3million in 2013 and stayed at Parkhead for three years but played a total of just 514 minutes of first-team football amid major injury issues.

However, Boerrigter has told The Celtic Way in a two-part wide-ranging exclusive interview that the writing was on the wall for his Hoops career not because of his health but due to falling out with Deila about systems.

"Neil Lennon signed me at Celtic but, within a year, there was a manager change and Ronny Deila came to the group,” Boerrigter told TCW.

“When Deila came in, I just wanted to play football as I've done it all my life. I know where my strengths are and I know where my weaknesses are.

“But he wanted the right winger, James Forrest, as well as myself to get the ball on the wing position and then drive inside. The full-back would then overlap us and they would get the crosses into the box. It would be an overload situation like a two-versus-one down both flanks.

"I had Emilio Izaguirre behind me and, in my defence, I thought I was better at crossing the ball than Emilio. I told Deila that my crosses were better than his and more effective and that the manager should just leave me in the one-v-one situations, that Celtic didn't need to play with overlapping full-backs.

"I told him (Deila) I would make sure that I gave the ball to the striker as that was my strength. I had a bit of a discussion with him about that. I said what I was good at as well as what I wasn't good at and that the same counted for other players in the team.

“But he wanted to play in a certain way that didn't suit both the Celtic way and it certainly did not suit a lot of the players at the time. He didn’t like my comments. I knew then that my career at Celtic was probably over.

"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."

After the spat, Deila forced Boerrigter to train with the youth team and things became more awkward when the Dutchman had to endure long treks to places like Dingwall without seeing any game-time.

“During the whole of my third year at the club, I trained with the young boys and I wasn't even allowed to play.

"The club sometimes gave me a little bit of a hard time as well. When everybody was off, I still had to come in and train and sometimes they would send me with the development squad to Ross County which is four hours away on the bus just to sit on the bench and then drive four hours back.

Celtic Way:

"I think Celtic tried to force me to quit so they could cancel my contract. It wasn't the nicest time back then but this is how it goes sometimes."

Things went from bad to worse when a potential way out of Parkhead and back to his homeland failed to come to fruition due to wages.

He added: "Deila wanted money for me as he wanted to sell me but obviously I hadn't played that many games in the two years because of my ankle injury and it was quite hard for me to find a new club.

"I knew Erik ten Hag, who was the manager of Utrecht at the time and is now the Manchester United manager, wanted to sign me and I was speaking to him personally. I said I was happy to join but the wages were a problem… it was unbelievably bad with the wages.

"So I talked to Celtic and I said to them ‘listen this is what I can make at Utrecht and this is what I make here, can we reach a compromise?’ but they didn't want to so I had no choice but to stay in Scotland and see out my contract.”

He did just that – eventually agreeing to an early termination in April 2016. At that stage he had not made a first-team appearance since August 2014, the same month that he was banned by the Scottish football authorities for simulation in a 3-0 win against St Johnstone.

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Boerrigter still rails against that particular slight on his character. Although referee John Beaton awarded the Dutchman a penalty and sent off Saints captain Dave Mackay for denying him a goalscoring opportunity in the flashpoint on the day, the SFA cited him afterwards.

The governing body accused him of causing "a match official to make an incorrect decision by committing an act of simulation" and he consequently copped a two-match retrospective ban.

“I remember the ban I got, it was for diving,” he said. “Honestly, it was something I'd never, ever experienced in my life before. I don't know how it was even possible. I'd played many games in Holland and this was the first time that this had ever happened to me when I played at Celtic.

“First of all it wasn't a dive as the St Johnstone guy did touch me. He knocked me off balance so I couldn't shoot properly or kick the ball.

"I thought ‘I can't shoot’ because he gave me a light tap on my back. I felt it. If I could still stand then I would have gotten a proper shot at goal. The first thing you're going to do when somebody knocks you off balance is that you're going to fall.

“It was a penalty and, well, the red card might have been a little bit harsh for the opposition but that's what the referee gave.

"To give me a retrospective ban after the event was ludicrous. I still think it was one of the worst decisions ever."