31/10/2003
 

Double award joy for Celtic

Liam Miller has started to establish himself in the Celtic team Celtic's progress at the top of the Scottish Premier League has been marked with a double award.

Martin O'Neill has been named manager of the month and midfielder Liam Miller is top young player for October, according to the Bank of Scotland panel

27/10/2003

Phillips to replace THE KING?

Michael Gray is convinced former Sunderland team-mate Kevin Phillips is the man to step into Henrik Larsson sizeable boots if he leaves Celtic at the end of the season.

The Swedish international striker continued to amaze on-loan defender Gray with his hat-trick in the 4-0 victory over Aberdeen at Parkhead on Saturday - so much so that he now ranks him above the Southampton frontman as the best finisher he has ever played with.

But if Larsson goes ahead with his threat to leave Celtic when his contract expires at the end of the season, Martin O'Neill faces the unenviable task of replacing him. Gray, however, does not believe that is impossible and believes that Phillips would be the perfect man to replace him. "I'd heard a hell of a lot about him before I came to the club and I knew what a great player he was," he said.

"But just to see him in training and to see him in games he is second to none and the best I've seen. "He's got a huge reputation and people say could he hack it in the Premiership? That's a silly question really. "He is a tremendous player and obviously knows where the back of the net is. His all-round play is tremendous and his link-up play with the rest of the team is fantastic.

"He's a clever player and isn't greedy in front of goal although he gets a hell of a lot of goals. He even left the penalty to Chris Sutton. "Until I came here Kevin was the best thing I had seen finishing wise and he certainly knew how to finish as well.

"He would be a fantastic replacement for Henrik Larsson but whether that happens is another thing. That's taking something away from the rest of the lads here." But even if the board fail to give O'Neill the money to buy a replacement, Gray believed that the likes of Shaun Maloney, Craig Beattie and Ross Wallace could supply the goals.

"It's going to be difficult but you can't take anything away from the rest of the strikers at this club," he added. "They are certainly going to get goals. "But Henrik has been a tremendous servant to this club and is going to be a legend for years to come and rightly so as well.

"He is going to be difficult to replace but there are a few young boys waiting in the wings for their chance and I'm certain they are going to get the goals as well." O'Neill revealed that he would do everything in his power to make Larsson change his mind - but the defender is not sure the players can do much to persuade him otherwise. "Every little helps," said Gray.

"We've spoke about it in training. It would be fantastic to see Henrik pull on that shirt again next season. "It would be great to see him stay but he is a strong-minded guy and his own person and when the decision comes it's down to him."

17/10/2003

Brussels park set aside for the Bhoys

Anderlecht and the Belgian Police have reached an agreement to house the overflow of Celtic supporters expected in Brussels for the Champions League game on Tuesday.

Only 2000 visiting fans will be allowed in the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium for the game, although up to 7000 Hoops’ fans are expected to travel to Belgium.

However, Anderlecht have agreed with the authorities to turn part of the Astrid Parc in the city over to Celtic fans to help accommodate the extra numbers and make their stay as comfortable as possible. According to the Belgian club’s website, www.rsca.be, the area will become a ‘Village-Parc’ for supporters, providing places to eat and drink as well as toilet and washing facilities.

The area will be designated for Celtic fans only from noon onwards on Tuesday.

06/10/2003

Varga, "Boss saved my career"

Stanislav Varga insists taking the gamble to stay at Celtic has saved his career. The Slovakian defender agreed to put pen to paper on a new two-year deal over the summer - even though remaining at Parkhead for the second year would be dependent on the number of appearances he makes this season.

When he agreed to the new contract, Varga had made just two appearances for Celtic but the former Sunderland defender was confident enough in his own ability to take the gamble. He proved to be a rock in the heart of defence, along with versatile striker Chris Sutton, in Saturday's Old Firm win over Rangers but he believes a large part of his success in Glasgow is down to Hoops boss Martin O'Neill. Varga said:

"He saved my career - I just want to give him back what he has done for me. "Maybe it was a gamble to stay but sometimes when you gamble you win and I think I won. "When I was at Sunderland I played against teams like Arsenal and Liverpool and probably most of the time I was man of the match. "I don't think I was a bad player, I just needed confidence and belief and Martin O'Neill gave me that.

" O'Neill faced a defensive crisis as Celtic headed into the first Old Firm derby of the season. Johan Mjallby, Joos Valgaeren, Ulrik Laursen and Stephen Crainey were all missing through injury, while influential centre-back Bobo Balde was suspended for the trip to Ibrox.

Shortage of personnel meant that O'Neill was forced to draft hitman Sutton into the centre of defence to partner Varga - who was making his Old Firm debut.

But Varga insists he was confident he would be up to the challenge. Varga said: "Bobo wasn't there and a lot of defenders were missing. I needed to take responsibility for my team. "I have played 39 times for my country and I have captained them, so I could do that." Celtic took all three points when John Hartson claimed the only goal of the game after his effort deflected off Zurab Khizanishvili into the back of the net.

Now Varga is hoping he has done enough to hold on to his place in the first team when his fellow defenders come back into contention for places. He added: "That is definitely the best game I have played for Celtic. "I would be disappointed if I was left out because I want to play. I don't want to just train. "I have found myself training a lot over the last two years and I want to play in every game."

02/10/2003

COUPET CUT UP ABOUT DEFEAT

Lyon's charismatic goalkeeper Gregory Coupet has blasted his side's lack of physical determination and motivation against what he believes was a beatable Celtic side in their second Champions League clash on Tuesday.

After an excellent first-half display, in which Coupet saved an Alan Thompson penalty, the French outfit collapsed with strikes from Liam Miller (70) and Chris Sutton (78) sealing the win for the Hoops. The France goalkeeper is all the more bitter at the defeat as he was convinced Lyon were better than Celtic. "This is a great disappointment, at half-time I was convinced we would defeat them, we could have made it," he told L'Equipe.

"It is true that we were superior technically but if we had managed to level our physical potential we would have gone through. "We lacked physical combativeness in the second half, we also lacked motivation and fighting spirit." Lyon had thrashed Ligue 1 side Lens 4-0 on Saturday and approached the European clash with great confidence.

"We showed against Lens that by playing our game for 90 minutes we were capable of winning a match by a large margin," Coupet continued. "Don't tell me that Celtic are superior to Lens, they are comparable teams." On his own performance he added: "I am not superman, but at least I have had the personal satisfaction to have completed a full match, saved a penalty and saved a few shots too. "I think that those actions will allow us maybe to make the difference on goal average." Lyon are third in Group A behind Bayern Munich and Celtic. They will next face the German giants on October 21 in Lyon.

02/10/2003

French Media - Headlines

The French media were quick to praise Celtic after the win that lifts them above Lyon in Group A on goal difference. Sports daily L'Equipe said: ``Lyon fell apart. They fell from a great height in Glasgow they were too overpowered in battle to thrive by playing football. ``Coupet did what he could.

He saved Thompson's penalty and held out for an hour before giving in like the rest of them.'' Le Figaro said: ``Lyon swallow a mouthful. A bad night's work for Lyon, who were unable to resist the Scots' frenzied approach in their Celtic Park den.'' Tabloid Aujourd'Hui en France said: ``Lyon exploded under pressure.

Their players only held out until half-time in the hell of Celtic Park. ``They were too timid, allowing the Scots to go on the attack after the break and the verdict was merciless.'' Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport joined in the chorus of praise, headlining their report: ``Mighty Celtic''. They said: ``Grit, running and two knockout blows floor Lyon.

Celtic got their victory thanks to sheer heart, hard running and athleticism.''

02/10/2003

Celtic pair attract England attention

The England management team have taken the advice of Martin O'Neill on board to watch Chris Sutton and Alan Thompson.

The Celtic manager again touted the pair for international recognition after Tuesday's Champions League victory over Lyon.

But Sven-Goran Eriksson's assistant has revealed he has already been checking them out and has been impressed with what he has seen.

Tord Grip said: "I was in Munich for Celtic's last game and saw the Lyon match on TV. Both players were excellent, especially Thompson. "We know about him and I think we will watch him after the match with Turkey. "Nothing will happen before then because all we are thinking about is winning that match.

"The left side of midfield is a position which has been a problem for us and, of course, that is where he plays.

"Thompson did well against Lyon and kept going even after missing a penalty which is good to see from a player.

"We are interested in both players and haven't forgotten about them just because they play in Scotland."

01/10/2003

Celtic's in-form Varga earns Slovakia recall

Celtic defender Stanislav Varga has been recalled to the Slovakia squad after a two-year absence for their final Euro 2004 Group Seven qualifier against Liechtenstein on October 11.

Varga, who last appeared in a Slovakia squad for a World Cup qualifier against Macedonia in October 2001, earned his recall through impressive club form, said Slovak coach Ladislav Jurkemik.

"I watched Varga in Munich in a Champions League match in September and I also saw him in action in Tuesday's game between Celtic and Lyon," said Jurkemik. "He been playing on a regular basis for his Scottish club and had good games against both Bayern and Lyon."