Without doubt Georgios Samaras has been the most talked about Celtic player of the season.
At one stage it was said that the Celtic support was divided in it’s opinion of the former Manchester City striker. What can never be doubted is Neil Lennon’s unswerving faith in Sammy.
Celtic’s 4-2 defeat against Rangers at Ibrox in September was one of the low points of the year with even Samaras’ strongest backers struggling to make a case for his performance that day.
There looked to be no way back for the 25-year-old as Celtic’s season imploded but Lennon kept the faith and even came up with the line ‘He could get me the sack’ when quizzed at the club’s AGM.
Since the 3-1 win over Rennes in the Europa League Samaras has been a key player in Celtic’s resurgent form with Lennon admitting that some straight talking after the Ibrox defeat has transformed the player from zero to hero.
“I had a chat with Sammy as I was disappointed with his performance at Ibrox,” the Celtic boss revealed looking ahead to tonight’s derby clash.
“Since then he’s been excellent and instrumental in this run. He said to me he wanted a consistent run of games. I said to him that I wanted a consistent run of performances.
“He’s shown a lot of character to come through the sticky spell when the fans were on his back.”
Samaras on the left and James Forrest on the right has provided Lennon with a winning formula whether they’ve been supporting one or two strikers.
Both wide men were substituted during the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock on Saturday but Lennon is hopeful that Forrest will be fit for tonight’s match.
The Celtic boss added: “Forrest is feeling fatigue in both hamstrings. It might be a problem stemming from his back. We tried to drip feed him into the team at first but he’s mature enough to play in any given situation.
“He is a special talent and one we need to look after. He’s an explosive player and it’s the way his mechanics work as well.
“We’ve had him sent down to London to see specialists. They have provided orthotic footwear to take the pressure off that area. It’s worked very well. We don’t have many in Scotland who can get people off their seats like him.”
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Sammy tends to blow hot & cold…..over the course of a season he is too inconsistent. If we can get a decent offer for him then I’d take it without a doubt.
Hopefully we can ensure young Forrest isn’t pushed too hard – too soon. With such as Paul George, Dylan McGeough, Kris Commons & Paddy McCourt waiting in the wings we should have sufficient cover to ensure he gets rested as required.
Today I feel it’s vital we get our line-up correct, especially at left Back & Central defence. While I’d leave out Kayal as well, maybe Brown wide right if Forrest isn’t 100%.
Hoping Ledley & Matthews, Kelvin Wilson / Rogne maybe Izzy are sharp enough for consideration at least….maybe only get part of a game out of some of them. Don’t want to see Ledley at left back a waste of talent & despite the player’s willingness to help the team he offers much more elsewhere.
Well I certainly got the Kayal decision wrong !!
He was absolutely outstanding.
We more than matched up to their strengths and adapted very well to the conditions. Although I do feel Ledley proved he was more useful elsewhere
While Sammy did his best work out wife on the left wing, Forrest was always a danger but think Sammy would really have caused them huge problems in a wider position.
Great 3 points though.