Celtic manager Gordon Strachan will be not be budged from his stance on the future of Shunsuke Nakamura despite the midfielder seemingly edging closer to a move back to Japan.

J-League club Yokohama Marinos, for whom Nakamura made his professional debut in 1997, will attempt to sign the 30-year-old midfielder in January ahead of their 2009 season.

A Yokohama spokesman was reported as saying: "It's a matter of how soon we can get ready financially.

"This will depend on when we get the nod from our parent company Nissan."

But Strachan, preparing his side for Wednesday's Co-operative Insurance Cup quarter-final tie against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, remained consistent in his appraisal of the situation.

"It is the same statement as on Friday, the same position," the Celtic boss said.

"Nobody has mentioned anything to me and unless anyone tells me anything different to my face then I will refer you to Friday's statement.

"I had a long conversation with Naka on Thursday and he never said a thing about that.

"I can only deal with reality; I will leave it up to the rest to deal with the nonsense that goes with it."

Celtic defender Andreas Hinkel is hoping Nakamura at least sees his contract out until the end of the season.

"He would leave a big gap if he went but we hope that he stays," the German international said.

"He is very good and technically one of the best, he is very confident with the ball and plays almost always the right pass.

"He has a lot of experience and is very important for us."

Killie have been something of a surprise package this season and remain in third place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League despite Saturday's home defeat to Falkirk.

Strachan knows that despite the Rugby Park side's good start to the SPL campaign, a semi-final berth is expected from the media, at least.

The Celtic boss, who revealed that talks about Gary Caldwell's new contract are still ongoing, said: "You will say it is going to be a tight game because they are third.

"You will say it is going to be a tight game because they are playing well.

"And if we don't win, it will be a complete and utter sensation.

"Kilmarnock are built up to be having a great season but if we don't win, all the usual nonsense will come out.

"They are playing very well, they are having a good season but we are expected to beat them."

Strachan has his target men, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Georgios Samaras and Chris Killen all still out injured, with only Samaras having any chance of making next week's Champions League return against Manchester United.

The Celtic boss was still wary about placing too much expectancy on 19-year-old striker Cillian Sheridan, who scored his first goal on his maiden start of the club in Saturday's 4-2 home win over Hibernian.

Strachan said: "Cillian hasn't played 90 minutes for us (apart from Hibs game) so we need to watch him.

"Cillian is different. He came to the game late. He is not like a normal kid who has come through academies and all the rest of it.

"He didn't start playing soccer until he was 13 or 14.

"He came to us and he has been injured more than he has trained over the last 17 months, so we need to protect him.

"His body has taken a whole year to get used to full-time training.

"We are in a dilemma as to how much coaching to give him and how much stamina work to give him.

"Let's see how we get on in the next couple of games."