Has there been a more costly, or mystifying, set of circumstances than the ones that have contrived to cast Bobo Balde in the role of Lennoxtown leper?

Almost single-handedly, the Guinean has kept radio phone-ins overburdened with fevered and often polarised debate. To recap, the most lavish earner on Celtic's payroll - a basic £28,000, with a now pointless £4000 appearance fee - has slipped so far out of Gordon Strachan's plans he might have been left behind in Barrowfield after the champions' big flit.

The complexities behind the 32-year-old's dramatic disappearance makes compelling reading. Signed for free from Toulouse by Martin O'Neill, the hulking figure earned a fearsome reputation as one of the most imposing figures ever to stomp around Scottish football. Heck, the very sight of this awesome physical specimen was enough to force comparatively skelf-like centre forwards into submission.

O'Neill's last contractual act as Celtic manager was to approve a new 41/2-year deal for his central pillar, in order to secure one last title before his departure. Celtic are paying for that moment of impetuousness to this day and, in all probability, for the remaining 18 months of Balde's contract.

A stomach muscle injury, broken leg and a pelvic injury have hampered his progress under Strachan, but the real reason for his relinquished first-team responsibilities runs much deeper. On the football side, Balde's lack of finesse is a major drawback for a manager whose philosophy is to build play from defence. In short, Strachan does not trust him.

Celtic's recent stutter in the league, taking five points from 12, has brought Balde's absence back to the debating chamber. There is a nostalgic misconception that the defender, who has not featured at all this season, is the solution to the club's ills. Robust and commanding as he can be, it is perhaps telling that his reputation has been enhanced in absentia.

Strachan will simply not bow to public opinion for two reasons: the battle lines were drawn after Balde's refusal to leave for Sunderland during the summer transfer window and next month he will be off to represent Guinea at the African Cup of Nations.

Traditionally, it has taken Balde some time to get up to speed with the demands of the league football and it is entirely conceivable that, even if Strachan softened his stance, Balde would only regain match sharpness by the time he is due to leave on international business. It is a risk the manager is simply unprepared to take.

Balde, who has prodi-giously represented his own business interests, is a fascinating and intelligent character. Given his extravagant earnings, he has been pragmatic about his prolonged and seemingly irretrievable demotion to something akin to a highly paid reserve team prefect.

He has been too pragmatic for Peter Lawwell's liking. The chief executive's attempts to convince Balde his time was up - pointing out, among other issues, that he was sixth-choice centre-back - proved futile as the player responded with the quote of the year: "You are the chief executive of Celtic, I am the chief executive of Bobo Balde".

With little prospect of first-team action, Balde has indulged his love of photography and camera work and has kept his fitness levels up in the apparently salubrious gym he has built - at some cost - at his home.

Worse than dropping out of contention, Balde believes he has been shown a lack of respect by his employers and will only agree to a move that suits him on his terms. Sunderland may yet return in January, but Balde is not interested in a short-term loan deal unless, of course, he is paid in full for the remainder of his existing contract at Celtic. He said as much in a rare and carefully considered interview conducted after an Old Firm reserve game.

"I refused to leave because I wanted everything to be clear, not the way Peter Lawwell, or anyone else, wants," he said. "Peter Lawwell said I would be dropped from the list with all the young boys coming in. There is nothing wrong with that; there's a new generation coming through at the club. If I'm not wanted any more, I have to leave - if I want.

"I didn't force the club to offer a long-term contract. What I ask the people who are talking rubbish about me is to give me more consideration and more respect. The club should have put something in the newspaper to give me more respect. I just want to clarify the situation by telling you about my frustration.

"They want me to go because of my wage and they want to play a young boy because his salary is lower than mine. There is nothing I can do."

His lumbering style is still fondly remembered by the supporters, who have bestowed on him cult status and now martyrdom. The ultimate irony of his Celtic career is that, having been snapped up in what was then regarded the bargain of many a year, Balde has since become the costliest liability since Rafael Filipe Scheidt.