Georgios Samaras knows he hasn't been performing as well as he did earlier in the season but the cartilage injury, the subsequent operation and the fight to regain match fitness were much harder to overcome than he had expected . "When I got injured in October it was the first time I'd needed an operation." he said. " It was also the first time in my career I'd suffered a serious injury. I thought I'd come back from surgery and play the way I'd been playing before but it hasn't turned out that way."
"I'm finding you have to work hard to do the simple things like get the strength back in your leg." said the big striker. "You lose strength from the damaged muscle and it's a difficult situation. But I know some people might not be able to understand that because they haven't gone through the same experience. You need time to get back and find your rhythm again. But I have to say this week in training I've felt as though I've found my power, mentally and physically."
Samaras revealed that he also needs to feel loved and nurtured to produce his best and when he was warmly welcomed into the Celtic family during his loan spell he was determined to sign a permanent deal with the club. "When I was back in Greece as a child everybody took care of me." he said. "When I was 16 I went to Holland and everybody looked after me there because I was always the youngest player in the team. I've had that support from a young age and if I don't have that security I'll be unsettled on the pitch. Confidence is the most important thing."
"If I feel the manager and my teammates really want me and treat me like family then I'm ready to use all my qualities and abilities out on to the park." he continued. "That's the reason I moved to Celtic from Manchester City. The atmosphere at the club is great and if I stayed here for 10 years I'd be perfectly happy. I don't play for money and don't care what other people think about money. When my loan spell at Celtic finished last season I told my lawyer that if the club wanted me on a permanent basis he was to do the deal without even asking how much money I was to get. I feel at home with Celtic, as if I'm part of a family."
Georgios is hoping that he and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink are now ready to step up to the plate and help out Scott McDonald in the scoring charts "Jan is still getting back to full fitness as well," he said. "And it's important that people remember that he's missed nearly three months of the season. It's maybe made things difficult for us. I was out for over a month, Jan was out for a long time and, when we were out, Oz had to handle everything, with Cillian Sheridan helping him out in a few matches.
"Shaun Maloney was able to play up front as well, before he got injured" he added. "And other times we had to play with one striker and that's difficult, not just for the strikers, but for the whole team because the system has to change a little bit. But now we are back to normal and it's exactly the same as it was last year and at the start of the season."
"We are the three main strikers, competing for two positions and all three of us are good enough to start." Georgios continued. " Whoever scores the most goals and plays the best will start. We all work well together and I think you can see that when it's me and Scott, Scott and Jan or me and Jan up front. You can't play for 10 months of a season at the same tempo and rhythm. Sometimes you'll have three or four weeks when you're a bit down and not playing at a high level. But the manager's terrific because you never hear him saying, 'That's your fault. You're a nothing and you're not good enough for the squad' When things aren't right he says, 'That wasn't good enough. You know that and I know that. Let's stick together, work through our mistakes in the next game and try to be better'."