YES TO REINVEST says RONNIE CULLY

MANAGER Tony Mowbray has been up front about the fact that books need to be balanced.

He would prefer to do this by offloading fringe players rather than a man around whom he could easily build a side for the next five years. But it is never average players who attract bids.

If Spurs, or anyone else, slap down £12million or more for Brown, good business dictates Celtic would have to accept.

When Artur Boruc was at his peak, they made it clear they did not need to sell nor want to sell, so were able to dictate a prohibitive price.

The same tactics will be deployed with Brown. The problem this time is their asking price could be met.

If it is, the majority of the fee would be given to Mowbray to bring in new faces.

That's the only way selling one of the crown jewels would be considered acceptable to either the support or the manager. CASH-IN A MISTAKE says THOMAS JORDAN

CELTIC cannot afford to cash-in on one of their top players.

If anything, Tony Mowbray should be looking to bring in new faces to compliment Scott Brown.

Every player has their price but the Parkhead board have been prudent when it comes to running the club. They'll leave themselves open to claims of being more interested in balance sheets than trophies.

Last season, a lack of spending played a huge part in Celtic losing the title and the sale of Brown, one of the most important players at the club, would put a serious dent in their hopes of winning the SPL championship this term.

Yes, Mowbray would be able to reinvest and possibly sign two new players, but would they be of the same quality as Brown? So any bid should be turned down for now to give the new manager as great a chance as possible of hitting the ground running.