boost for celts as jan returns to training

Paul Cuddihy
AFTER a run of injuries which has tested the strength and character of his squad in recent weeks, the news that Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has returned to full training has been a welcome boost for manager Gordon Strachan.

The big Dutchman, who has been out since the end of September when he suffered a hamstring injury during Celtic’s 3-0 victory over Dundee United, has been training with the rest of the first-team this week and he could be in line for a return to action in tomorrow night’s CIS Insurance Cup tie against Hearts.

And speaking ahead of that game, the Celtic boss was delighted to see last season’s top scorer back in the thick of things.

“Jan might be back,” he said. “He’s trained full-out for two days now and it looks alright with him. That’s good news.”

And in what is becoming a regular mantra, the manager also reiterated his intention to play his strongest side against a Hearts side who have already suffered a 5-0 defeat at Celtic Park in a league fixture back in August.

“Any time we’ve played I don’t think you’ve seen me play a weakened side,” he said. “Against Benfica last week, for example, there was only one change from the side that beat AC Milan.

“So I always play our strongest side unless there are mitigating circumstances like last week – with just two fit strikers and two games to play.

“We have to win everything that we go in for. If we don’t then we have to take the criticism. We have to deal with that, and the way to deal with that is to try and win everything.

“We’ve forgotten about the game we won 5-0. Everything went in the back of the net that day for us. We played well but we had breaks at the time.”

As for Hearts, the Celtic boss admits that he has no idea as to the make-up of their starting XI. All he knows is that it will be a tough and competitive game.

“Hearts didn’t start the season at their best,” he said, “but then they got a good run going and they looked really strong again and then they got a couple of results recently that weren’t so good.

“They like to really rotate their squad every now and then but what you have to say is that the team that played a couple of weeks ago looked really big and strong and confident again.

“They’re good players, they are a good side - a physical side - and, again, you’ll see our team tomorrow and you’ll know I’m trying my best to win this competition.”