Hartson set for recall as Celtic rue Larsson loss
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Your support makes all the difference.The Celtic manager, Martin O'Neill, has confirmed that the striker John Hartson is in line for a first-team return after being dropped last week.
The Welshman fell out with his manager after being substituted during the CIS Insurance Cup semi-final victory over Dundee United on 6 February. Television cameras caught the striker aiming a volley of words at his manager – and he was immediately dropped for Sunday's league win over Livingston.
But with Henrik Larsson now out of action for at least six weeks with a broken jaw, O'Neill must fill the gap left by the 34-goal Swede when he picks a team to meet Motherwell at lunchtime on Saturday.
O'Neill said: "Of course, John will be in contention this weekend. He is a great striker whose record here has been nothing short of excellent."
Shaun Maloney is another option and the youngster did his cause no harm on Tuesday night with an excellent strike for the Scotland Under-21 side direct from a free-kick in the 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland. O'Neill said: "Shaun's ability from free-kick situations is outstanding – it is Beckhamesque."
The Celtic manager has added the defender Stanislav Varga to his squad in a deal to the end of the season that is dependent on both a medical and a work permit application. But the ex-Sunderland man knows that following in the footsteps of his fellow Slovakian Lubomir Moravcik will be difficult.
Varga said: "Lubo said to me that, no matter what I do, I will always be Celtic's second Slovak. Lubo is still very proud to have been the first."
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