we want to sign off great year with a win

Paul Cuddihy
GORDON Strachan wants his side to finish 2007 with a win over Gretna, an appropriate way to sign off a year that has been a very successful one for the Hoops.

A second consecutive league title, a Scottish Cup triumph, playing in the last 16 of last season’s UEFA Champions League and securing participation in the same stage this season has been an impressive catalogue of achievements.

And while the Celtic manager is happy to acknowledge what has gone before, he refused to look beyond Saturday’s clash with the SPL new boys. It’s an approach that has worked well throughout his time at the club.

“We’ve had some terrific games this year,” the manager said at the pre-match press conference. “Even the game on Boxing Day was a good game of football and if anyone didn’t see that as a good game of football then they should seriously be doing something else.

“You saw probably the move of the season and the save of the season, as well as power, commitment, counter-attacks. So, we’re happy with what we’re giving the public.

“Occasionally we don’t come up to the standards we set but we try and achieve something that makes you go back and say ‘I like watching them play football’.”

The reigning champions and league leaders go into Saturday’s home game on the back of an impressive 2-0 victory over Dundee United at Tannadice courtesy of second-half goals from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Stephen McManus.

Gretna, meanwhile, enjoyed only their second league win of the season recently when they won at Tannadice, and they followed that up with a 1-1 draw with Aberdeen on Boxing Day.

“Gretna seem to be enjoying life more at the moment,” Gordon Strachan said. “They got a terrific result at Dundee United and showed great fight and determination the other day (against Aberdeen). That’s what they showed against us.

“But it’s important that we win against Gretna. The last time we played them, we made sure most of the praise went to Gretna because they deserved it, and I thought they deserved to at least get a draw that day.

“They got a fair bit of praise that day and deservedly so. Hopefully we can win the game tomorrow and people might talk about us.”