Aiden McGeady is to seek legal advice in his dispute with Celtic and is believed to want to explore every possible avenue of appeal over the fine of two weeks' wages and a two-week ban from first-team activities that the Scottish champions have imposed on him.

The Celtic and Ireland winger is to enlist the help of the Professional Footballers' Association in Scotland in the dispute, which yesterday showed no sign of thawing out. Celtic have not asked McGeady to issue a public apology and still look set to try to sell the player in January.

McGeady, who had a row with Gordon Strachan in the dressing-room after the 1-1 draw with Heart of Midlothian on Saturday, during which he is alleged to have abused the Celtic manager, is currently banished to train with the Celtic youth team.

Fraser Wishart, the chairman of PFA Scotland, is expected to meet with McGeady, or his advisers, next week to asses the situation. The PFA, while seeking to define the player's rights, will also try to find a resolution between McGeady and Celtic. Ultimately, if McGeady wants to pursue his challenge to Celtic all the way, then potential hearing panels at the Scottish Premier League and the SFA could become involved, and possibly even a court of law.

The Celtic player, contrary to wishing to issue a public apology for his verbal altercation with Strachan, is said to want to establish that the club has followed every correct procedure to the letter in imposing its punishment. Strachan is bracing himself for having to speak to the media about the situation at Lennoxtown tomorrow, though Celtic are standing by their punishment of McGeady.

Yesterday, the newspaper and radio phone-ins in the west of Scotland were obsessed with McGeady, with many Celtic fans coming down on the side of Strachan. Crucially, McGeady will now miss the Old Firm game at Ibrox on December 27.

Meanwhile, David Holbrook, McGeady's agent, has again emphasised that the player does not want to leave Celtic, though McGeady and Holbrook both believe that the fine imposed by Celtic is swingeing. “Aiden believes that the fine was completely unjustified and so we intend to appeal it,” Holbrook said last night.

“He has been suspended for two weeks, though that is not the same thing as never playing for the club again. Aiden plays for Celtic - he loves Celtic and wants to be a part of the cause. He wants to play in the next match for Celtic, but obviously Celtic don't want him to play in it.”

Holbrook admitted that McGeady issuing an apology - a popular theory doing the rounds yesterday as a means of finding a resolution to the row - was not on the agenda.

“Neither Aiden nor the club have made me aware of any request from the club for a written or verbal apology,” the agent said.

“I have been familiarising myself with the in-house appeals process [at Celtic] and I can't see anywhere that there is any aspect of it which would allow the demand for an apology.

“I presume Celtic are acting as they are entitled to do, and we are taking action as we feel entitled to do as well. There is a dispute here, but that is not to say that the grievance will not be reconciled.”

Both Celtic and McGeady himself will be wary of imminent events. On Strachan's part, he has chosen to deny himself a principal weapon for the forthcoming clash at Ibrox which, whatever your take on the Celtic manager, appears to be a principled stance. Celtic are also facing the vexed issue of a depreciating value for McGeady on the transfer market, given that Celtic will want to sell him next month.

McGeady, meanwhile, having played little football in recent months, is now facing another period of inactivity - the last thing he would have wanted.

“No club has contacted me about Aiden,” Holbrook said. “And you would have to ask Celtic if any club has come in for Aiden, as Celtic don't need to tell me or Aiden.”

Sunderland, Newcastle United and Bayern Munich are all said to be interested in McGeady, though it may be that Celtic have to settle for a knockdown price.