Former Celtic defender Josip Juranovic has opened his heart on the reasons why he decided to quit the Hoops.

The Scottish champions sold the player for £10million to German Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin in January after he enjoyed a decent World Cup 2022 finals in Qatar for Croatia and subsequently left Ange Postecoglou's men for pastures new.

However, Juranovic insisted that he loved life in Glasgow's east end and that he was smitten by the club for 18 months.

He said: "I had a really good relationship with the fans. I really loved it. It was a tough time to move away, but that’s life. I was a little bit sad Celtic didn’t try to keep me as a player there. But that is football. You can’t know your future.

"I spoke with Ange one week before I moved. We always had an honest conversation between us. He is a good coach – a really good coach and I tried to keep him informed. My 18 months there were unbelievable. What can I say about Celtic? It’s one true love."

Celtic Way:

The 28-year-old also admitted that he left Celtic because he was protecting his international career after the Hoops signed Alistair Johnston as a potential replacement while he was still playing for Croatia at the World Cup.

Juranovic said: "To be honest I was a little bit surprised because I was playing in the World Cup and preparing for my next game. Some of my friends called me and said they’d signed a new full-back, what’s your opinion about that?

"In my mind, I was thinking, we would have three full-backs and someone will be on the bench and someone in the stands with their family. I knew I would maybe not play two games in a row and maybe play the third one. I didn’t like some of that stuff – because of the national team. If you are not playing regularly for your club, you won’t get called up for the national team. That’s the main reason why I left.”

Meanwhile, Celtic head to Paisley on Sunday to take on St Mirren hoping to exorcise some demons. Steve Robinson's men inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Postecoglou's team the last time the two sides met at the same venue back in September.

It remains Celtic's only Scottish Premiership loss this season. Since then, the teams have met on two occasions with the Parkhead club running out 4-0 and 5-1 winners, respectively.

However, Robinson has thrown a gauntlet down to his men ahead of Sunday and insists that lightning can strike twice and that St Mirren knows how to beat Celtic.

Will Celtic preserve their nine-point lead at the top of the Premiership table or can St Mirren complete a home league double over the Hoops?

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