Celtic boss Gordon Strachan had a good day at the office yesterday and it was all the more satisfying because his formerly mis-firing strikers managed to get themselves back on target. Georgios Samaras was first off the mark when gave the Celts the lead within five minutes when he slotted the ball past onrushing Accies keeper Sean Murdoch and Aiden McGeady scored a second to give the Bhoys a comfortable half-time lead. Samaras nabbed his second from a very difficult angle in the 65th minute before substitute Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink ended an extremely barren period by knocking in his first SPL goal since September.
"I think overall it was top-class from start to finish." said manager Strachan. "It was pleasing to get Jan a goal and Sammy two. That's three they've scored in one game so their average is going up. The attitude of the two of them has been fantastic. I told Jan recently that he could have no regrets, that he did not need to reproach himself for anything. I said to him, 'you are training incredibly hard and doing as much as you possibly can and you are a total professional so things like this happen and you just have to keep at it'."
"We needed the second goal and then we could relax a bit - and after the third went in we could take in the rest of the game." added the boss. "It was a good day's work but it is a big day for Rangers and we have to see how they go. It's a cliche but we had to do our stuff and we had to do it with real class and real professionalism. "
Samaras and Vennegoor of Hesselink's return to form couldn't have come at a better time according to Catalan midfielder Marc Crosas. "The most important thing is that we won the game, but it is also very important that Sammy and Jan scored again," he said. "It is important for their confidence. They have been scoring goals in training, like always, but today we won the first of our nine finals and it is crucial for the team and also for them to score again. They get more chances in some games than others and it was like that today."
The spotlight swings back towards the Huns today and it will be interesting to see how the imploding Ibrox mob handle the game given their off-field problems but Crosas and his Celtic team-mates can sit back in comfort knowing that they've done their job satisfactorily this weekend. "I will be watching the Rangers game," said Marc. "But our work is to be ready for our matches."