Derby County goalkeeper David Marshall has admitted that a return to Celtic this summer was never a realistic possibility, while speaking to the Glasgow Times.
As Phillip Cocu’s Rams dropped to the bottom of the Championship on Saturday with a 2-0 home defeat to Barnsley, the 35-year-old shot-stopper would have been hurting more than most.
It was Marshall’s mistake that gifted Conor Chaplin his 30th-minute opener, giving away possession with a misplaced goal kick before slipping as he attempted to keep the forward’s opportunist effort from drifting into the corner.
But, without Marshall, Derby would be in an even worse position.
The former Cardiff, Hull City and Wigan goalkeeper has been in largely excellent form since moving to the East Midlands and, while the Rams’ promotion hopes appear to have gone up in smoke already, he has no regrets about putting pen to paper.
“I signed a couple of years at Derby and I am really delighted. I just wanted to get to as high a level as I could,” Marshall said ahead of Scotland’s crucial Euro qualification clash with Serbia tonight.
“Derby are struggling at the minute, but I am confident that will turn around. Derby have always been a play-off team and trying to get promoted so that is what I am looking to do.
“I signed a two-year contract so I am hoping we can eventually get promoted. It is difficult saying that when you are sitting bottom of the league, but as I say, I am sure it will turn round relatively quickly.”
As for a return to Celtic?
“It was never close,” Marshall adds.
The Sun reported in June that a former Hoops goalkeeper who made 50 appearances for the club before leaving all the way back in 2007 would have jumped at the chance to return to where it all began.
But Celtic decided to go for an expensive import than a familiar face, paying £5 million for AEK Athens’ Greek international Vasilis Barkas.
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