Melbourne-born Macca, 35, was left without a contract after his Dundee United deal ran out at the end of last season and an earlier move to the A-League fell through, with no other offers on the table.

The striker is notorious for never having scored a goal for Australia in 26 games yet he was a Celtic legend 10 years ago with a phenomenal strike rate of 55 goals in 88 games.

He went on to have mixed results for Middlesbrough, Motherwell, Millwall and Dundee United, although he still averaged a goal almost every other game in his final season.

But in articles over the weekend, Macca looked back on his career with a swipe at former bosses, branding one "bonkers" and "uninspiring", and accused another of playing mind games which left him a wreck.

“My problem is I’m a typical Aussie. I can be very blunt at times," he told the Scottish Daily Record.

“There have been times throughout my career when I’ve been guilty of having too much to say for myself and I know that. Maybe I didn’t always think about the way I delivered it. I came straight at you, like a shotgun.

“And these things tend to stick even though I’ve calmed down a lot in my later years. I got involved in one or two arguments and flashpoints on the training ground. Things I now regret even if they were not always my fault.

“The worst thing was people started talking about me behind my back. This is what I hate about the game and life in general. These rumours get stronger until they create a bad smell.

“I’ve got a reputation for my persona on the pitch but I’m a different guy off it. But I can’t 
apologise for it because I’m a winner. I can’t stand losing at anything.

"Lose a game of five-a-sides and I’m in a bad mood for the rest of the day.”

However he does admit allowing his life go off the rails by "letting off steam" after he was dropped by the  Socceroos and he moved to Millwall for two years from 2013.

“That was down to the frustration of realising my career was not going the way I hoped it would when I left Celtic for
 Middlesbrough," he said.

"I had various options and chose Millwall because it was the chance to live in London. But it turned out to be a complete disaster.

“I learned a lot working under Ian Holloway but it was horrible at the same time because he plays a lot mind games. It left me a bit of an emotional wreck."

But his last boss, Csaba Laszlo at Dundee United, comes in for the harshest criticism.

“The manager is bonkers – and you can write that. He is bonkers," he told the Record. “He’s just uninspiring.

"He just saps the life out of the players. That’s the biggest problem at the club. They chose the wrong guy."

But McDonald did have words of praise for his old Celtic boss Gordon Strachan – despite being dropped by the Scot when he was a youngster at Southampton.

He also revealed how close he had once come to signing for the Bhoys' deadly city rival Rangers in 2007.

"I was already well liked by the Rangers supporters and I’d given up hope of signing for Celtic," he revealed. "So this was an opportunity to take my career to another level.”

Motherwell at the time refused to sell the former Gippsland Falcon star, and a year later an offer came in from Celtic instead.

“I got a call saying Celtic were interested and I didn’t believe it," he admitted. "I was then told to wait for another call from Gordon Strachan.

“It turned into the longest 10 days of my life. I was in Hong Kong with the national team when the phone eventually did ring. I was so nervous I could hardly speak. You have to remember the guy on the other end of the line released me when I was a kid at Southampton.

“So this was awkward from the start. After some small talk, he says: ‘Are you going to have a problem working with me because I got rid of you?’.

"There had been a lot of disappointment when he let me go. A lot of hatred. To me he was a little ginger so-and-so!

“It was only when I got older I realised why he had done what he did. He knew I wasn’t ready. I had to go away and become a man. At the time I was angry.

“As a young boy it doesn’t even occur to you that some of the things he’s saying might actually be right.

“You are striving to get to the top and this guy is just getting in your way. As it turned out moving to Motherwell was the best thing I could have done.”

He added: “But our relationship totally changed when he phoned me before I stepped in the door at Celtic Park. How many managers do you think would go and rectify a decision they had made, regardless of how good that player had gone on to become?

“Essentially he didn’t say he had called it wrong. But he did say, ‘You weren’t as good then as you are now’. Maybe he twisted it to his own advantage. But that phone call told me a lot about him as a person. I couldn’t wait to work for him.

“Sometimes everything just falls into place. It was a marriage made in heaven. There were no low points under Gordon, none."

Strachan left and was replaced by Tony Mowbray – and everything changed for McDonald, he said.

"He didn’t really man-manage the players who were there," he revealed. "He lost the love in the changing room very early."

A few months later, Strachan rang him looking to reunite at Boro where he was now coaching and Macca –and Celtic – snapped up the chance.

“Did I leave too soon? Yes, 100 per cent. But the money was too good to turn down. Simple as that."

Nine months later though, Strachan left – and was replaced, again, by Mowbray.

"How’s your luck eh? Of all the people. Look, it was a low," said McDonald. “But it was a different situation for the two of us now. 

“It was easier for us to get along when we were not in the fire at Celtic any more. There weren’t the same pressure points on our relationship any more and we got on better for that.

“He realised I was a better player than he thought I was and I realised he was a better manager than I had given him credit for.”

Now he's hoping to carve out a new career in television – but still harbours hopes of beginning a career in coaching.

“I’m enjoying the broadcast stuff and if this is the road I go down I might even look to do some presenting," he told the Record. "I think I’m articulate enough to do that. I’d quite like to emulate Gary Lineker.

“But I also have ambitions in football. Everyone knows I spent my career telling everyone else what to do so it’s probably a natural progression.

"I’d like the chance to look after other people and not just focus on myself. I really do believe I could get the best out of players if I was given a chance.

“One of the reasons I’ve decided to leave the game is because people can’t deal with the demands any more. Everyone wants to be cuddled.

“The modern player wants
 to be told how good he is and the modern manager needs tranquility within the dressing room. It’s getting ridiculous. Don’t tell me you’re trying your best, I want to see more from you.

“It seems like the game has gone a bit soft. The thing is, if you don’t have that fire in your belly to succeed you’re never going to be a winner.”