The Old Firm weigh up their injury options

Ian Paul
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20 Dec 1997

WHO will be in the lead on the fifth day before Christmas? That is the question which will be answered by the time the three front-runners for the premier-division championship have completed their half-term programme this afternoon. It is not often that such a question has involved three teams in Scotland, and the presence of Hearts on top of the two regulars lends a fresh dimension that will please the great majority of football lovers in this country. Their progress was halted by Celtic last week at Parkhead, but that will not deter their supporters or management in thinking that they can restate their case at home against the other half of the Old Firm today. If they manage a victory they would consolidate their place on high, while Rangers also could head the table if they come back along the M8 with three points tucked away in the hamper. There are one or two other possibilities, including the one that would mean Celtic leap-frogging both of them by winning against Hibs at Celtic Park. A draw between Hearts and Rangers at Tynecastle would be required for that to happen. What is certain is that the two Glasgow teams will need to be at their best, especially as injury and suspension have severely depleted their sizeable squads. Rangers will be without captain Richard Gough and goalkeeper Andy Goram, who are injured. They will also be missing midfield men Jonas Thern, who has a family problem that requires his presence in Sweden, and Paul Gascoigne, who is still under suspension. Celtic have had to rule out Marc Rieper, Stephane Mahe, and Simon Donnelly, all of whom are injured. In contrast, Hearts will be able to welcome back their influential young defender, Gary Locke, after injury and seem certain to have Neil McCann and John Robertson available, despite suffering a couple of knocks. Rangers will be boosted by the return of Brian Laudrup and Jorg Albertz, but manager Walter Smith still has some selection problems to sort out. Similarly, while it looks certain that Celtic's latest signing, Harald Brattbakk, will have his first starting place today, Wim Jansen has to decide on a replacement for Mahe, and whether or not to begin with Darren Jackson as well as Henrik Larsson supporting Brattbakk. While he was as reticent as ever about his line-up, Jansen did accept that the reason he had wanted the Norwegian was in the hope that more goals would be forthcoming from the playing style of the team. ''We hope he will be able to supply them,'' said the Parkhead manager. Celtic have been some distance behind the two other sides in their scoring rate, with 29 league goals against Rangers' 42 and Hearts' 37 and their belief is that Brattback's presence will be a major aid in closing the gaps in the goals-for area. Ibrox manager Walter Smith will decide today whether to start with Brian Laudrup or risk the luxury of producing him at a later stage of the proceedings. ''It is good to have him back, of course,'' he said, '' however, he has not been involved in the action for quite a while and it is difficult to decide which would be the better course of action for him.'' The manager sees Laudrup's season as a mirror of the one that has been the club's lot to date. ''He has played in fits and starts, just as our own season has gone overall. ''With him and Paul Gascoigne being out at times, and neither Rozental nor Amoruso playing yet, we haven't had the full complement of players at our disposal that we had hoped for. Even so, Smith has been consistent in his view that Hearts will be in the title fight all the way, along with the usual challengers. ''I see this as being as tight a championship as there has been for many seasons. ''We know we have a real battle on our hands this season, but we have always relished this kind of challenge, and if we can get a settled squad for the second half of the season, then I can see things improving for us.'' Nevertheless, the manager who has been involved in nine title victories in a row warns that it could be foolish to over- emphasise the games between the main participants. ''Obviously, they are extemeley important, but you can't take your eyes off the other games. ''We know that to our cost, for we have already dropped points against teams that were in the lower half of the league.''

Taken from the Herald