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Scottish Premier League Update

Ali Hannah on the latest from the Scottish Premier League, October 2008

Celtic | Rangers | Scotland

Celtic Roundup

The combative performance Stephen McManus and Gary Caldwell delivered against Premier League champions Manchester United was one of the biggest thrills for Celtic this month.

Their Champions League aspirations may, in all truth, be gone, but life is not without its pluses for Gordon Strachan. McManus and Caldwell had never looked more immovable, never looked more embedded, never looked more secure as the bedrock of the defence.

Not since the Aberdeen partnership of Willie Miller and Alex McLeish in 1990 has there been a Scottish central defensive partnership with the potential to operate side-by-side for several years at club and international level.

McManus and Caldwell, both 26, are in their third season together with Celtic and, since George Burley took over, they have been the default partnership for Scotland. Burley has likened them to Miller and McLeish. In fact neither is as individually impressive as the Aberdeen pair were, but the partnership is evolving and improving. Caldwell, in particular, has been excellent this season. Many thought him too prone to mistakes and he was loudly criticised, but he has responded with form which has earned him a new contract offer.

Miller was at Parkhead to provide analysis for Radio Scotland last Wednesday and when he later reflected at length on McManus and Caldwell his praise was unrestrained. "Look at the quality of the opposition - United were exceptional in the first half and world class in the second - yet Celtic still managed to keep them out all bar that one goal. Their positional sense was fabulous. Their understanding with each other throughout the game was first class. The two centre backs, being under that much pressure, stood up to the challenge and came out of it with honour.

"Playing together is important. After maybe a decade together it was almost telepathic between myself and Alex. He knew what I was going to do and I knew what he was going to do. Stephen and Gary have had their telling times and their critics. It's a measure of the character that Caldwell has shown that he has come through bits of that.

"Individually they are both good players and they have grown in stature. Games like that one are only going to help them. You get landmark games in your career that give you the belief that you can go on to bigger things. Myself and Alex had it playing for Scotland at Wembley in 1981, we had it against Bayern Munich in 1983.

"These kind of games just give you the belief to kick on and go on to better things. They are at a perfect age, their peak athletic years are coming up and they are mentally improving. They can play a bit as well, they're not just big stoppers. They show composure too. Maybe on the night I thought United's corner kicks caused them a problem or two. That was the only weak part of their game."

One spectator with a vested interest saw something else to concern him: the ball. Artur Boruc will undergo a knee operation tomorrow which is likely to mean Mark Brown continues in goal for Celtic's penultimate Group E game away to Aalborg on November 25.

That will require him to deal with a ball he described as "ridiculous" because of its unpredictable movement. The official Champions League ball, the Adidas Teamgeist, has been criticised by some for being too light. In Brown's opinion it was the unpredictability of the ball's flight which deceived Boruc on Wednesday when he could only parry Cristiano Ronaldo's vicious shot into the path of Ryan Giggs, whose header cancelled out Scott McDonald's opening goal.

"Honestly, having trained with those balls, they are ridiculous and should be banned," said Brown, who played a Champions League tie against Spartak Moscow last season. "The way the ball moves is incredible. It's like nothing I have ever seen. At the time I thought Artur's save was a great one because I know how much that ball moves.

"I sympathise with him, especially with the way Ronaldo kicks the ball. It is completely different to the SPL ball made by Mitre. It is so light that even trying to curl the ball is next to impossible. Even outfield players don't like it because passing the thing is a lottery.

"The first time we used it, before the Aalborg home game, we were out training and I was thinking oh my God, what's this?' Adidas won't be happy with my comments. They are trying to make it lighter all the time but it's too light."

Qualification for the last 16 remains theoretically possible for Celtic but there has been an inclination - not from Gordon Strachan or his players - to regard the three points from the Aalborg trip as being in the bank already. In fact, if Celtic lose that away game, and of course they tend to experience nothing except defeat on their travels, they will finish bottom of the group and be out of Europe altogether.

A draw would mean they could finish no higher than third. A win would prolong their prospects so long as Villarreal and Manchester United do not carve up a draw on the same night, as a point would be enough for both of them.

Even a cursory glance at the group table suggests the damage has been done. It is asking too much to hope that sides of United and Villarreal's calibre might throw away a six-point advantage with two games left.

The strength of the English and Spanish representatives, the injuries to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Georgios Samaras and the concession of two points at home to the Danes have brought Celtic to the brink of elimination. They have scored only once and taken just two points from two home matches when in every previous season those pair of fixtures have yielded six.

The pleasure Strachan derived from coping with United at all was unmistakable. The defence's triumph had been his, too, because his bold decision to play two in attack helped to occupy United and relieve a little of the pressure on his players.

"Looking at it, we were actually far more comfortable when we put two strikers on the pitch. The two strikers were dragging Man United people back to defend. In the second half we only had one after Cillian Sheridan tired and had to be withdrawn in the 63rd minute. So then United could loiter up the pitch and keep themselves fresh and when the ball came to them they could take off. So defensively, Scott and Cillian did very well for us."

A few months ago the only way Cillian Sheridan could have imagined playing against Manchester United would have been on his computer. In the intervening period, however, three men's losses have turned out to be one young man's gain. Injuries to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Georgios Samaras and Chris Killen left Gordon Strachan, the Celtic manager, with little alternative but to pair the 19-year-old Sheridan with Scott McDonald in attack against the might of the European champions.

The Irishman, it must be said, coped admirably against Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic for 64 minutes before he ran out of steam, understandably given his lack of first-team experience.

The player admits his has been a dizzying rise but hopes he can make the most of his unexpected opportunity.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind but it's been brilliant and I've taken everything in," he said. "Hopefully I can learn from it all and become a better player. I've come late to the game and still have loads to learn.

"The last week or two I've gained a lot experience-wise but I've still got a lot to learn football-wise. I've just got to take the chance and hopefully it's going forward rather than taking steps backwards.

"I've got to take my chance over the next few weeks with them coming back from injury. That's when the real challenge starts for me. I've got to show I've got the ability to play even when they're not injured. That's up to the manager. I'm happy that he's shown faith in me up until now and played me in the big games."

Sheridan reveals he only found out on the morning of the game that he would be playing against United but insists he wasn't fazed at the prospect of playing against the side deemed by many to be the best in the world.

"I found out on Wednesday morning just before training that I would be playing. I wouldn't say I was surprised as there was always going to be a chance. We were at home so had to really go for it and play two up front.

"It was a toss up between me and Ben Hutchinson as to who would get the nod up front so I'm glad I got the chance. You get a lot of confidence when you play. Before the game the standard of opposition goes through your head. But once you go out and start playing it's just you against them. Reputations don't mean that much when the game starts."

Hailing from the village of Bailieborough, County Cavan - "quite a small place where everyone knows everyone" - Sheridan's first love growing up was Gaelic rather than association football.

He elected to focus on soccer, Sheridan, a childhood Leeds United supporter, earned a move to Celtic aged 17 but found his progress derailed by a sequence of bad injuries.

Now fully fit, the teenager is benefiting from others' misfortune. "I played a lot of Gaelic when I was younger. When I then started playing soccer up in Dublin and was getting into Ireland squads at youth level I knew I had to start taking it more seriously. I had to train more and that came ahead of Gaelic. I had to pick one and it's every kid's dream to become a professional footballer. That overshone Gaelic. My first season at Celtic was fine but last season, my second year, I had a lot of bad luck.

"Initially I had a hip operation and then a recurring hamstring problem. But I've felt fine since then. Playing against Manchester United has given me confidence to go into games. I can say I've played against the best in the world but I have to kick on from it, use the experience I've got and take it from there."

Rangers

Walter Smith, charged with the onerous task of leading Rangers to a championship they have not won since 2005, has not been surprised at the manner in which Celtic have fought back since losing the first Old Firm game of the season back in August.

Smith believes that managing a football club nowadays is more difficult than it has ever been because of largely unseen complications that would not enter the thoughts of those supporters who scream their condemnation of the manager at every setback. It will not have reduced the fever among Rangers fans that the seven points dropped so far - a defeat and two draws - have been to St Mirren, Aberdeen and Dundee United respectively.

"The difficulties arise these days from things such as contractual issues, Bosman and the trend towards movement by players,' says Smith. "It makes it much harder to achieve the continuity you need to build a team and have them playing the way you want.

"In this respect, I think Celtic have benefited most in the past couple of years, and that's greatly to their credit. Since Gordon began his initial changing of the side when he arrived, there has been a substantial number of players who have stayed together and achieved the consistency that can bring.

"If you go back a few years, you see a time when you could more or less predict the opposition's line-up. Last season, for example, we went to Easter Road to play Hibs in the Scottish Cup and the match programme carried a piece about a previous cup tie between the clubs four years before - 25 players took part in that previous game and not one of them was still at either club."

Smith's most depressing experiences of rapid turnover would certainly include the transfer of Carlos Cuéllar to Aston Villa at the start of the season. The Spanish defender, having cost just £1.5m, had been an outstanding success following his capture from Osasuna last season, but a clause in his contract stipulated that Rangers would be obliged to sell in the event of being offered €10m (£8.2m) for his services. "Carlos is the best example of what I mean about contractual issues," says Smith. "When Martin Bain, our chief executive, and I went to Madrid to negotiate the deal, we discovered that no business would be done unless the clause was included. It wasn't something we were used to, but it's a commonplace in Spanish football.

"We are still going through little transitional things at the moment that can cause the slips we have had in some matches. When people were talking negatively about the way we played last season, it was natural for us to do that, to tighten up defensively, to make us much harder to beat.

"I was constantly aware of that and of the certainty that we would change as we progressed. I don't think we're that far away now from what we're trying to achieve and I think we are certainly playing to a far higher level. It's now just a matter of eliminating one or two little errors."

Rangers striker Nacho Novo will get himself a British passport - but claims it has nothing to do with his bid to play for Scotland.

The 29-year-old Spaniard hit the headlines last month by claiming he would accept a call to represent his adopted country.

The SFA initially issued a statement saying Novo, who has lived in Scotland for eight years, would be considered for selection if he successfully applied for a British passport.

However, that door was closed when SFA chief executive Gordon Smith insisted the ruling body would be returning to their original Home Nations agreement that players will be eligible to play for Scotland only if they qualify through a parent or grandparent.

But in another possible twist to the on-going saga, a meeting in January between the four home nations could see that rule overturned - which would leave Novo back in the frame for a call-up if he has a British passport.

The former Raith Rovers and Dundee player said: "I haven't applied for my passport yet. But even before the question of whether I would play for Scotland or not arose, I was always thinking about getting a passport for my family - not to play for Scotland.

"But I haven't started the process yet.

"It's been a long time, eight years, and my family is Scottish.

"Scotland is my home. I came from a lower-division club in Spain to here, and everybody has helped me and been really nice to me."

The Spaniard insists the whole issue of his eligibility spiralled out of control.

"I didn't start anything," he said.

"I was just asked a question and I said what I felt, that if something happened then I would be happy to play.

"It was a simple answer to a simple question - that's all - but everyone has taken it too far. i was surprised by the reaction.

"I respect everyone's opinions. People will be with you; people will be against you - but I don't want any trouble at all."

Scotland

George Burley is a man walking on thin ice. Almost before it has begun, Scotland's World Cup campaign was looking over.

Scotland captain Barry Ferguson has no intention of following Kris Boyd through the Scotland exit door - but refused to condemn his pal for walking away from George Burley.

The Rangers and Scotland skipper spoke out in the aftermath of his club colleague's shock decision to quit the national team last month after a spat with Burley.

Boyd insists he will never play for Burley again after being given just 28 minutes of action in the national manager's six matches.

The final straw for the hitman came in the 0-0 draw with Norway at Hampden. With Burley's side fighting to break the stalemate, Boyd didn't get the call he expected from the manager and kicked his heels on the bench.

Burley stands by his decision and Ferguson sympathises with Boyd, who now joins Rangers ace Lee McCulloch in exile.

But Fergie won't be disappearing in the near future as he chases his dream of being involved in a major finals with his country.

He will consider his international career at the end of this World Cup qualifying campaign but this is the stance he has always taken.

Ferguson said: "I'm going to play until the campaign ends and then I'll take it from there. That's what I've done all along.

"It's the one thing that's missing - I've never reached a major finals with my country and I'd love to put that right."

Ferguson, though, did admit he can see why Boyd took a different decision.

The midfielder sees the frustration suffered by the striker at both international and club level and knows it eats away at his confidence.

Ferguson understands Boyd's frustration at being left sidelined and feels everyone should respect his decision.

He said: "Kris is in the same sort of situation at Rangers but knows he's going to get on if things are not going well. I think he was just disappointed he didn't get a chance to get on and play when he saw Steven Fletcher and Chris Iwelumo going on before him.

"I can understand why he would be frustrated. It's not just me. I think everyone knows when he gets on the pitch, nine times out of 10 he's going to score. There is a lot of disappointment and sadness on his part.

"He just wants to play and, obviously, he didn't, so he has come to a decision that you have to respect."

Ferguson, meanwhile, is set to be back in the international frame this month after a lengthy spell on the injured list.

The influential playmaker has been out of action since undergoing ankle surgery in July but is set to reclaim the captain's armband for a friendly against Argentina.

Ferguson admits he'll be saddened not to have Boyd at his side when Diego Maradona's side turn up in Glasgow.

He said: "As captain, you want the best players to be there.

"In terms of goals, Boydie certainly is one of the best strikers, if not the best, around.

"But it's Kris's decision. He has thought long and hard about it and we all just have to accept it.

"He is old enough and experienced enough to make these decisions and I can understand why he has done what he's done.

"He is frustrated and wants to play and, in his mind, he's not being given the chance."

Ali Hannah

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