Scottish Premier League Update

Ali Hannah on the latest from the Scottish Premier League, February 2008

Celtic | Rangers | Scotland

Celtic Roundup

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When it comes to the SPL, instant judgements are everything. And at the minute Celtic are winning on points.

Managers like to tell the press one thing yet do another and nowhere is this truer than at Parkhead where all season Gordon Strachan has been exhaustive in his praise of Chris Killen and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. Any criticism of either has been brusquely waved away.

Yet he has signed Giorgios Samaras from Manchester City, who will be a direct competitor to those two. Strachan knows he needs more up front and the Greek will be given his chance to complement Scott McDonald.

He has also added German international Andreas Hinkel at full-back, but the other new signings - Barry Robson, Koki Mizuno and Ben Hutchinson are attacking players. Robson will arrive hoping for the game time that has eluded Derek Riordan, but it is difficult to see where he might fit in on a regular basis. Is he going to displace Shunsuke Nakamura or Aiden McGeady in the wide positions? Unlikely. Or will he put pressure on Evander Sno, Paul Hartley, Scott Brown and Massimo Donati, who have all failed to impress consistently in the central berths? Robson has the ability to play anywhere in midfield or just off a striker. He may need all this versatility to earn his time on the park. Mizuno and Hutchinson can both be considered buys for the future.

It had been widely assumed that Celtic would be in the market for a centre half. Daniel van Buyten of Bayern Munich was once considered an option. But no centre back has arrived at Celtic Park. And one has not left. Bobo Balde remains on the Parkhead wage bill despite a late approach by Sunderland.

Strachan has had a change of heart over the Guinean. He is also silently expressing his confidence in his young defenders. Stephen McManus, Gary Caldwell and Darren O'Dea appear now to be the future for Celtic in central defence. The cards have now been dealt for the final hand of the season. Strachan will be pleased at how his recruitment process has been conducted.

Only Kyle Lafferty, the Burnley forward, has escaped his clutches and that may be remedied in the summer. Celtic have won on points in the transfer window. But that is only a judgment subject to ratification on the park. Rangers lead on points in the Premier League where they hold a four-point advantage over the Hoops and Strachan has gone all out in this transfer window to do what he can to close that.

The reality is, of course, that he will be judged by what his new acquisitions do on the park. One of them, Georgos Samaras is adamant he will deliver the goals that Strachan craves in the second half of the season. Celtic have been monopolising games this season without ever being able to kill teams off and there have been many anxious moments towards the end of a 1-0 win for the Celtic fans to endure.

Samaras has revealed he sees Celtic as a step up from Manchester City and he can't wait to get an opportunity to play in the Champions League when the Hoops meet Barcelona next month. Gordon Strachan's side have been crying out for someone who can capitalise on the chances they have been making - but not taking - this season and Samaras fancies he can solve the problem.

"Goals, goals and goals," he smiled when asked what he will bring to the Celtic side. "I am more like the second striker. I like the ball at my feet and try to create something for my team-mates and it's my job to score goals," he went on. "There are big targets here and I like that. Celtic is a bigger club than some of those in England and I think I have made a step up rather than a step down. I hope to be a big part of the team over the next couple of weeks. I want to win games. That1s my target. I know Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink really well from my time in Holland. We played in the same league and it1s nice to meet up with him again and hopefully we can do well playing in the same team."

"I have played in the Uefa Cup, but I cannot compare that with the Champions League because everyone knows that the Champions League is the top club competition and I am really excited at playing in it. I feel well in myself and I think I can help the club win games and help them win trophies."

Samaras is also hopeful that the loan move can help him clinch a place in Greece's Euro 2008 squad. The 22-year-old's hopes of making the finals were fading as he struggled to get into the Manchester City side. The 6ft 4in frontman, who joined City from Heerenveen for almost £6m two years ago, believes he can score enough goals for Celtic to ensure he wins over his national coach, Otto Rehhagel.

He said: "One of the reasons I signed here is because I will use the games to help Celtic, and, of course, for the chance to be in the squad for the national team of Greece for the summer. I'm here to help Celtic and for Celtic to help me."

Mizuno, like Samaras is also 22 years old, remains more of an unknown quantity to those stationed outside of his native Japan. Capped three times, the attacking midfielder was described by Celtic coach Tommy Burns as someone with an infectiously bubbly personality - "You know, he liked playing those computer games," he laughed, all fingers and thumbs as he animatedly tried to mimic someone playing on a games console. "He's a wide player with pace and with great technical abilities. He's a good crosser of the ball which will suit the bigger guys in the team. One thing noticeable about him is he seems a really bright personality, totally different from Shunsuke Nakamura who's a lot more calm and introverted. This wee guy was bright eyed and bushy-tailed. I think personality is a mega thing in football. People can feed off of that."

Rangers

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It has been a disappointing and difficult transfer window for Walter Smith to endure. The Ibrox club have no worries about their financial status after Alan Hutton became the most expensive outfield transfer in Scottish football when he joined Tottenham Hotspur this month for £9m.

The player had made it clear he had not wanted to leave Ibrox but Rangers were delighted with the fee for the player and encouraged him to make the move to the Premiership. It’s been a problem for Smith, however, with no time to spend the cash he got from the sale of the player.

Striker Daniel Cousin was all set for a move to Fulham but the deal fell through because he had already played 20 minutes as a substitute for Lens as well as Rangers and under FIFA rules a player cannot play for three different clubs in the same season. An appeal has been made to the governing bodies but a move now appears unlikely.

There was also a fruitless trip to Italy for Smith as he tried to sign Andrea Caracciolo but the striker instead opted for Brescia leaving Rangers with £6m to spend and no one to take it. The collapse of Thomas Buffel’s loan move to Cologne was merely a further irritation on a vexatious day. The arrival of Steve Davis, Christian Dailly and Neil Alexander will be scant consolation to Rangers fans seeking a big signing.

Smith will be disappointed. He was resigned to the loss of Hutton, although only a week ago he was convinced the full-back would not move until the summer. He will, however, not be overly concerned at losing out on a striker. He insisted that he had adequate cover for Cousin when the Gabon striker seemed certain to move to Fulham. There is no big name, big money striker for Rangers in this window but Smith has Jean-Claude Darcheville, Kris Boyd, Steven Naismith and, perhaps, Cousin to contest for a spot up front.

Davis was overlooked by Rangers a decade ago when he had trials as a kid with the club and having signed on loan until the end of the season he is keen to win a permanent move to Ibrox. The 23-year-old Fulham midfielder will offer some cover for the injured Kevin Thomson who is missing after a hernia operation. “It really is a dream come true for me,” he admitted. “I have been a fan all of my life so to get the chance to come to Rangers is fantastic. Since the manager has been changed at Fulham things haven’t worked out for me so I welcome this chance to come to Glasgow.

”I’m finally getting a chance after missing out when I was a kid. I came over for trials when I was 12 and I played in the same team as Stevie Smith. I’m glad he’s doing well and I look forward to meeting up with him when I get there. ”I hope to win trophies with Rangers in my time with the club. That would be fantastic. I obviously know who the players are and to play in the same team as Barry Ferguson would be great.”

Meanwhile, Smith has backed Hutton to take the Barclays Premier League by storm despite his disappointment at losing the defender. “I am extremely confident he will do well at Tottenham,” said the former Scotland boss. “He has shown with his performances for Rangers and Scotland how well he can play. It’s a terrific buy for Tottenham.” Hutton has completed a startling transformation in the 12 months since Smith returned to Ibrox, but the Rangers boss is refusing to take any credit for the talented defender’s development.

”You have to give him all the credit for his performances,” Smith insisted.
”I didn’t go out of my way to do anything special with him. His level of performance has been excellent and he now has the confidence to go along with that. Everybody at the club, from the chairman down, is disappointed from a football perspective that he’s leaving.

”But we all know the reality of the situation is that it’s the type of offer we couldn’t turn down.”
Team-mate Chris Burke insists Hutton is worth every penny of his hefty transfer fee. He said: “When I heard that Spurs had bid £9million, I thought ’why not?’ He’s been playing against top quality players at international level. Just because he’s been playing in the Scottish League people seem to write off the SPL, but this is a very tough league and I’m sure when he goes down there he’ll show his ability.
”It’s not astonishing. If Spurs are willing to pay £9million he’s worth it.”

Scotland

George Burley has been confirmed as the Scotland manager and he immediately assured his new employers that he would, unlike his immediate predecessors, honour his contract. Walter Smith walked out 12 months ago in order to rejoin Rangers and his successor, Alex McLeish, resigned in the aftermath of Scotland's failure to qualify for the finals of Euro 2008 so that he could fill the vacancy left by Steve Bruce at Birmingham.

Burley, though, promised that he will not be tempted to leave the national team in the lurch no matter who might come calling. "I've signed a contract for two-and-a-half years and the SFA have an option for another two years after that," said the 51-year-old. "The first part of that is the key for me, though, because I want to be successful and no matter what happens I want to be here for that two-and-a-half years.

"If anyone comes in for me during that period and wants me to leave this job, then I will definitely say no." Burley had the glazed and slightly disbelieving look of a prize-winner as he discussed his appointment with the media, admitting it was still sinking in that he had beat Graeme Souness, Mark McGhee and Tommy Burns for the opportunity to lead the national team. "Looking at the other candidates, I'm surprised to have got the job," he said.

Appearing enthused by the prospect of leading his country to the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010, Burley was happy to discuss his plans for the future. "First of all, I'll be selling our house in London and basing myself in Scotland," he said. "Our daughter already lives in Edinburgh and my wife, two dogs and myself will be coming up here as soon as possible. I'm excited by it but not overawed. "There are tingles going through me of excitement, thinking about it. The previous managers have done absolutely tremendously. Everyone remembers the last game where it was so close to qualifying. Now the dream is to qualify for the World Cup."

Burley claimed the recent improvement in Scotland's fortunes has instilled a conviction that the team can go one better and take their place at the World Cup in two years' time. "It's not going to be easy but there is belief now," he said. "I think that is another part of the job, the country believing and believing we are going somewhere."

Even being compared unfavourably to England's new manager, Fabio Capello, by one journalist failed to dent his good humour. "Maybe they didn't have an English manager who was right for the job," he replied. "The difference with us is that there are probably 15 or 16 Scottish managers who could have done this one. Timing has an awful lot to do with it. Sir Alex Ferguson and Davie Moyes are two of the best around at the moment, but they're currently at the top of the Premier League so the timing would be all wrong for them. For me, though, it's perfect. I've had 16 years of experience in management and I'm ready for this. I don't find being here daunting.

"I've inherited an excellent squad of players and I believe we can qualify for the World Cup if we get together and work as hard as we can." The reintroduction of the Scotland v England fixture would meet with the new manager's approval, but for now he is just looking forward to next month's training camp.

It will be his first opportunity to build and develop relationships which could last until 2012, and he will do so in the style of his mentor, Sir Bobby Robson, who took him to Ipswich Town as a 15-year-old in 1971.

"He has been a huge influence on me," Burley said. "When I was due to make my debut, against George Best at Old Trafford, I remember him asking me if my mum and dad were at the game. They'd made a five-hour journey down from Cumnock and when I pointed them out as I got off the bus he went over and handed them two tickets for the director's box. He taught me that if you treat people right you'll gain their respect."

Former England captain Terry Butcher will be Burley's assistant with Celtic defender Steven Pressley taking up a coaching position on the management team. The appointment of Butcher, who won 77 caps for England and captained the side to the 1990 World Cup semi-finals, could be an issue for Scotland fans but he maintained his experience would be an advantage.

Butcher said. "Although I have only coached at club level, the international game is something that I know well. There is no greater honour than playing for your country." Gordon Smith, the Scottish Football Association chief executive, said: "If Terry was going to be used as a coach on match days or match occasions then it would be on a part-time basis. So I don't have a problem with that. George hasn't said yet who he is going to bring in, but there are two people who usually come with him."