Tony Mowbray says he’ll stop talking to the Scottish press if his own words are constantly used as ammunition against him. The Celtic boss says he’s frustrated by the level of pressure and criticism in the press.
Mowbray’s natural honesty and forthright nature were one of the reasons he was revered during his time as a player at the club. But now the Celtic manager says his open nature is being used against him in a way which is causing his family concern.
His five months in charge of Celtic have seen mixed results and his honeymoon period quickly came to an end as his sides came undone during their European baptisms of fire.
Mowbray said: "I'm a pretty open guy and I like to talk about football but if it keeps getting used against you every week, then why keep falling in the same trap?
"I love to talk about football, I'm an honest guy but it doesn't seem to be a positive, it seems to be a negative.” He added: “It's pretty open for the world to see. In Scotland you are either great or you are not.”
Mowbray’s predecessor Gordon Strachan famously gave the Scottish media short shrift, leading to a difficult relationship for most of his spell in charge.
Now Mowbray, who experienced the West of Scotland press cauldron for four years as a Celtic player, says he’s quickly coming to terms with the reality.
"There seems to be no grey areas, so let's not talk about grey areas, let's keep it black or white. I worked with the media in Edinburgh and the west midlands and now I'm working with the media in Glasgow.
"I've played here at Celtic for four years so it has been a period where you see if things have mellowed but maybe it's naive to think that they have mellowed. I've enjoyed five or six years working as a manager and I've never had the reaction or the manipulation of what you might say.”
