Paul Hartley scored his first goal at Celtic Park in Saturdays 2-0 victory over Motherwell and seemed to enjoy the buzz of finally scoring in front of the home support. Hartley, 32 had been a peripheral figure this season until the injury problems that Celtic are being forced to endure and he has stepped up to the plate with some impressive performances - none more than his energy defying showing against Manchester United.
Hartley said; "It's always pleasing to score and it came at a good time.
"You never complain when you are in the lead at halftime. We scored a second and it was a good three points after the midweek game.
"Some people have questioned our fitness but we are fit bunch of lads and can get through games. We showed that against Well.
Paul then answered the media driven assertion that the current Celtic players are dead on their feet in a defiant fashion: "Are we tired? Well, it's only November. We'll see how we are in April. But even at this stage of the season we've a good wee cushion over Rangers.
"There's a long way to go but we're happy with things at the moment.
"Considering the injuries we have it's all about getting victories.
"The performances are maybe not the most important thing just now.
"We just want points on the board and we'll grind out results if we have to.
"We have a busy schedule coming up and it would be good for us if some of the players came back from injury as we are thin on the ground."
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt