Kenny Dalglish took charge of Celtic's first-team training session as the search continues for a head coach to replace John Barnes.

Dalglish, director of football operations at Parkhead, has been installed until a permanent appointment is made.

The players, who have been warned that the club will not tolerate a lack of commitment, must raise themselves for their Premier League game against Dundee at Dens Park on Saturday.

Mark Viduka, who was involved in a dressing-room bust-up at half-time during the 3-1 defeat by Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and Henrik Larssen, returning from a broken leg, took part in the session.

Among the names being touted as a replacement for John Barnes are two former Celtic managers - Wim Jansen and Tommy Burns.

Former Wimbledon coach Joe Kinnear and current Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy are also being suggested.

Chief executive Allan MacDonald said the club would not rush into another appointment.

First team 'mainstay'

"The first team at Celtic is the mainstay of our football organisation.

"The head coach is responsible for performance, selection, tactics and player acquisition," he emphasised.

"We're now pursuing the appointment of a new head coach as quickly as we can.

"But just to reiterate the point I made, we will not sacrifice quality for speed."

Whoever follows Barnes will be entering one of the most strenuous jobs in European football.

Celtic have won just two major trophies in the last decade - the championship in 1998 and Scottish Cup in 1995 - as they have been completely overshadowed by their arch rivals Rangers.

They have now gone through seven managers in nine years - Billy McNeill, Liam Brady, Lou Macari, Burns, Jansen, Jozef Venglos and Barnes.

'Strange culture'

Matt McGlone, from the official newspaper Celtic View, said: "The fans are fed up with the fact that Celtic are not beating Rangers at the moment.

"It was quite clear John's side wasn't anywhere near achieving that target.

"It is quite abysmal the number of managers we've had in the last few years.

"I don't think Celtic have actually pinpointed any one person.

"I think the type of person they should go for is somebody in the Alex Ferguson, George Graham mould, a strong disciplinarian who understands the culture of what goes on up here.

"You've a very strange culture here where you need a coach of the highest esteem but you also need somebody who understands the mentality of the expectations of the support.

'Keeping continuity'

Dalglish, a Parkhead hero as a player in the 1970s, must now try to persuade a new man to take up the challenge of satisfying not only of an average home crowd of 59,000 but also the club's demanding shareholders.

The secretary of the Association of Celtic Supporters Clubs Peter Rafferty said: "At least we are keeping continuity in the club with Kenny in charge. It is important to have some stability.

"I can't really feel that sorry for John Barnes. He had a fixed idea about team tactics and brought a lot of the problems on himself.

"It was common knowledge the players weren't comfortable and the supporters were clearly unhappy.

"Celtic fans have been brought up on a diet of attacking football, glamorous football - but that's not what we were getting."