McDonald needs to end goal drought soon

Last updated : 16 December 2008 By Mikbhoy

Any thoughts on the crucial match against Rangers at Ibrox in just under two weeks time will be put on the back burner for now as the Celts stick to the 'one game at a time' mantra. The Bhoys are four points clear of their city rivals at the top of the SPL despite only gaining a solitary point from their last two games against Hibs and Hearts. Fortunately the huns also failed to win on a weekend that saw us produce our poorest display of the season and that was vital to our championship ambitions.

Also vital according to Scott McDonald is gaining all three points at Falkirk "Around this period of the season every point is vital," he said "Last year, we had a bit of a disappointing Christmas and we've had a couple of blows in the last few weeks, so we want to put a stop to this and get three points."

"This is a crucial time for us and we know that we won't get it easy against Falkirk. After that, we play Rangers and Dundee United, so it's a really important Christmas period." he added.

"Falkirk are a good side. They always seem to make it tough for us, but the good thing about them is that they play the game the right way. John Hughes likes his players to get the ball down and pass it. That's his philosophy on the game and you can see it in their style of play." continued the number seven "No matter what happens, they never change their approach and you need to credit them for that. Hopefully at the weekend, the conditions allow both teams to get the ball down and we see a good game."

Celtic fans will be hoping that our little antipodean striker will rediscover his scoring touch at the weekend because quite frankly Scott is just not producing the goods at all this season.

It's a sad fact that outwith his terrific Champions League goal against Manchester United he's had very little to shout about this term - two goals against former club Motherwell and one goal each against Aberdeen and Hamilton Accies are a very poor return for Celtic's main man up front.

Manager Strachan has stated that Cillian Sheridan has a lot to learn about the game but it's interesting that the Irish youngster's SPL goals tally of 4 is equal to McDonald's despite Skippy having made many, many more first team appearances.

The SPL's 'Top Scorers' table shows Falkirk's Higdon, Mehmet of St Mirren and quite a few other players from provincial clubs above McDonald and that can't make pleasant viewing for a player who knows he has to work harder than most to stay in the affections of the support. This festive season could be very crucial for Scott McDonald and hopefully for all our sakes he'll come out the other end of it with his goals account much boosted.