Gus Poyet in Celtic and Rangers jibe over dominance as he has Giorgos Giakoumakis' back

Greece boss Gus Poyet has backed Giorgos Giakoumakis' decision to quit Celtic for the MLS - and claimed it’s good for his career.

The big striker shocked the Hoops when he knocked back a new deal before sealing a £4.3m switch to the MLS with Atlanta United. Giakoumakis - who struck 26 goals in 57 appearances for the Hoops - took a pop at Scottish football claiming “there are two clubs and all the others try to defend” adding that a reason for his decision was that the MLS is a “very competitive league”.

And former Spurs and Chelsea legend Poyet has backed the 28-year-old insisting he was correct in claiming it's a two-team title race and adding that the move can help him hit top form for his country too. Poyet said: “When I read his comments, I took it naturally. I didn’t see any kind of surprise? It’s been Celtic or Rangers for the last 100 years, every now and then someone will have a great season. So from his point of view, it’s comparing the two leagues and asking who won the MLS Cup in the last ten years? There are so many names and options, so it should be more competitive.

“Now, remember that competition means that most teams are at the same level. That doesn’t mean that MLS is better than the Scottish Premiership. It’s different, difficult to compare.

“There are teams there who are playing in the Champions League and in MLS, they may compete against some Mexican teams. I think he was talking more about the fact there is not only two teams and I am excited about him and him pushing a change because it was good for his career.

"I really hope that it starts working well for him because we need him at the national team."