Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Georgios Samaras are finding goals hard to come by these days while reserve striker Ben Hutchinson is banging them in regularly for the second string and he's hoping that the manager will give him a chance to reproduce his form on the big stage. "It was great to get another goal in midweek." said Ben "It's just great to score no matter what level of football you are playing at. I've been injury free for a couple of months after the hamstring problems I've had since coming to Celtic. I'm now just focusing on getting into the first team. I have been on the bench the last couple of games. Now I'd like a chance to show what I can do."
"The boss has told me my turn will come if I keep scoring in the reserves and working hard." continued the ex-Middlesborough forward "That's what I'm doing at the moment. There is a bit of pressure on the strikers at the moment. But the goals will come for them as we have real world-class strikers at the club. All I can do is work hard and make sure when the time comes that I'm ready."
Hutchinson may have to wait a wee while longer to get that elusive first team berth as manager Strachan insisted today that he won't be making any radical changes to his team for tomorrow's SPL game against St Mirren at Celtic Park. Points have been strewn like confetti since we beat the Huns in their own midden back in December but the boss insists that he'll remain faithful to players who have served him well in the past.
"Will I change things about?" he asked. "Well I did last Sunday when I played with three strikers. But no, there will be nothing that surprises anyone on Saturday. I don't just sit back and wait for things to happen. You have to make things happen in life and in football. That's what we're trying to do at the moment. Last week, a lot of things happened in the Motherwell game. We created chances and we played good football, but we just couldn't finish them off."
"I'll use the golf analogy. From tee to green, our players have been fantastic." he continued "It's on the putting green that you win championships. Sports people will understand what I mean by that. At the moment, our putting isn't the best but what do you do? We do the same as golfers. We go out and practice and that's what the boys have done. We are trying to make things happen."
One youngster who has impressed the manager this week was 21 year-old Simon Ferry. The midfielder has been beset by numerous injuries over the past three years and Gordon Strachan was delighted to see him return to action and make that push into the first team squad. "Young Simon has been out for about three years but he trained with us yesterday and was truly magnificent." said the Celtic boss "So, he'll be in the squad on Saturday. That's what happens when you take the opportunity to impress. If you'd asked Simon about his future last week, he wouldn't have looked too far ahead."
"He's been out for a long, long time and hasn't really played many reserve games for Celtic," he added "but he's been terrific and he makes training a happier place, because he has a great personality. This week, he has been training with us and has been sensational out there. Because of that, he will be in the squad. We are always open to good players and people will get there with hard work."