KRIS COMMONS has insisted he has no burning desire to play in England again, revealing instead that he feels he has "unfinished business" in the Champions League.
The Celtic forward, named yesterday as a nominee for the Cheque Centre/PFA Scotland Premiership Player of the Year award alongside team-mates Virgil van Dijk and Fraser Forster, as well as Kilmarnock's Kris Boyd, is out of contract in the summer, although Celtic are expected to take up their option of extending his stay for a further year.
Leicester City, newly promoted to the Barclays Premier League, are thought to have expressed an interest in the 30-year-old who has scored 28 goals this season. Commons, though, who played with Stoke City, Nottingham Forest and Derby County earlier in his career, insisted he had no designs on returning back south. Instead, he has his sights set on leading Celtic back into the group phase of the Champions League this summer.
"I'm not a kid any more," he said. "The grass isn't always greener elsewhere and I've already played down south. Most players might think they'd like a crack at the Premier League but when you play in the Champions League and try to be competitive with Europe's elite then that's the biggest thing for me.
"That's why I'm going to get myself as fit and sharp and good as I can be for our qualifying ties in July. I feel as though I have unfinished business in the Champions League. We did really well last season but didn't do ourselves justice this time out. So I want to get back into the group stage and do better but we know how tough it is just to get there.
"It doesn't really bother me that Scottish football doesn't have a great reputation in England. Most people down there who say that would be jealous of what we have at Celtic. Just about any of our home games has a better atmosphere than everything down south, big derbies apart."
Commons hopes there will be dialogue soon with a view to him signing a longer agreement with Celtic. "I've still got a year left on my contract and I'm only 30 - it's not as if I'm 35 or 36 and trying to nick another 12 months. But I've never felt as good or scored so many goals. I'm enjoying my football so, hopefully, something will be sorted out sooner or later but I'm in no rush.
"It's hard to say I've got a luxurious lifestyle - I train every day and I've got three kids. But I don't want to leave Glasgow. I love the people and I'm very happy here. My kids are in a very good nursery and, as long as they're happy, I'm happy."
Commons revealed his own choices for the end of season awards. "I voted for Boydie and for Stevie May as young player. It's hard for us to judge, though. You tend to look at the top goalscorers but there aren't many teams who enjoy much possession against us. That makes it hard for players to show exactly what they're capable of and hard for us to pick out someone who's been outstanding."
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