It's fairly safe to say that Anthony Stokes won't be playing for Celtic under Ronny Deila again. The Irish international has been frozen out of the picture after failing to secure a move away from Parkhead in the summer and things have only gone down hill since then.
Sunday's trip to Inverness saw that culminate in some tweets that Stokes probably regrets in hindsight.
That's a sentiment that's unlikely to get you in the manager's good books and so it has proved.
The Scottish Daily Mail are reporting that Stokes showed up for training at Lennoxtown on Tuesday only to be turned away and subsequently suspended for two weeks pending an investigation from the club. The Mail are also quoting an unnamed 'source close to the player' who is suggesting that Stokes is, understandably, less than delighted with the suspension.
When Kris Commons indulged in a very public show of dissent towards Ronny and John Collins during the Molde game recently he was spared a suspension. Anthony finds it surprising his actions merit a suspension when that didn’t.
While Deila's job is very much under threat, it seems unlikely that Stokes will be around long enough to impress another manager if a replacement does come in. Reports in the Scottish and Welsh press yesterday suggested that Cardiff City were ready to offer Stokes an escape route when the transfer window opens in January.
If that move is open to Stokes then you'd have to think it would be best for everyone involved if he was to opt for a change of scenery. With Celtic effectively refusing him access to training, it seems unlikely they'll put up much of a fight to try and keep the 27 year old in Glasgow.
