Interim Celtic boss John Kennedy has blasted comments from Norway boss Stale Solbakken calling for Kris Ajer to leave the club.
During the international break Solbakken urged the centre-back to leave the Premiership insisting he had picked up "bad habits" from playing in Scotland.
The centre-back faces an uncertain future at Celtic Park as he enters the final year of his contract and the Norwegian boss urged Ajer to make the move to "a major league".
However, Kennedy has hit back at the criticism noting that Celtic have played a huge part in the 22-year-old breaking into the national side.
He told the Daily Record : “I thought it was disrespectful to both the league and the club.
“We are a massive club in our own right who compete in Europe every season.
“To come out with such a strong statement about what a player must do, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.
“It’s not his position to say that. If he wanted to have a private conversation with Kris over that, fine.
“But I certainly don’t think he should be coming out publicly and telling a player what he should or shouldn’t do.
“Especially when you play at a club like Celtic. Anybody who has been at Celtic will have realised the size of it the minute they stepped through the door.
“The magnitude of it, the fan base and the expectation.
“We have had a huge part in Kris’s career to date and how he has developed into the player he is.
“There’s no doubt there will be interest in Kris because of his profile, his age and where he is at.
“But I found the statement and the comments disrespectful towards ourselves.”
With Ajer entering the final few months of his contract prospective new boss Eddie Howe facing a huge job to keep the defender or find a replacement.
