Shunsuke Nakamura has revealed that he played Sunday's game whilst not fit after missing a night's sleep due to fever and has also stated that Barry Robson robbed him of penalty glory as he was the next nominated taker after JVH.
Nakamura said: "I did not sleep well before the game because I had a fever. I did not feel well and was not fit to be honest.
"But the manager still chose me to play and I was happy to do that for him. It wasn't my best game because I felt tired in my legs.
"I played for 90 minutes and tried my best all the time.
"I spent a lot of time chasing Rangers players when they attacked and, by the end, I found it difficult to even walk."
Speaking of the decisive penalty Naka said I was selected as the second penalty taker on Sunday after Jan so when he went off I was supposed to replace him if we got any.
"But when we won the penalty, Barry didn't wait to see who was supposed to take it and grabbed the ball from Georgios Samaras.
"I had no chance of telling him it was supposed to be me. I don't think he knew that.
"When I saw the two of them arguing over who was going to take it, I didn't want to get involved.
"It would not have felt right for me also to be asking for the ball.
"There was no stopping Barry and he took it brilliantly. I was delighted for him that he scored. He made a good decision."
I have been mightily impressed with Barry Robson since he joined; his performances remind me of Alan Thompson in his prime. This statement from Naka regarding Robbo displays the type of win at all costs with courage and conviction attitude that Super Thommo was revered for. More of the same please Barry.
The Japanese genius also feels that the season is not yet over "The season isn't finished.
"We have three games to go and they are just as big and important as the Old Firm.
"We showed a lot of fight on Sunday and that must continue to the end.
"We had to beat Rangers and it was an incredible game. We lost two bad goals from set-pieces and that is something we need to work on.
"We must look at our defending.
"The Old Firm games are always special and Sunday was one of the best.
"I thought I had scored with a free-kick but their keeper made a good save.
"We deserved to win because Rangers tired in the second half and we made a lot of chances."
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt