I FLUKED WINNER WITH SOLE OF MY BOOT SAYS STEPH

NEW year.New heroes. But it's the same old story for Celtic as Gordon Strachan's table-toppers stride onwards towards the title.

Strachan watched on breathlessly from the sidelines at Tynecastle yesterday as two young Scots, Stephen McManus and Stephen Pearson, ripped victory from the jaws of defeat in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.

Pearson - a player who looked to be on his way out right up until the Bells - came off the bench to drive Celtic back from the brink. His boundless energy pumped into Strachan's lifeless side like an adrenalin shot straight to the heart.

Within minutes of his arrival the former Motherwell man had fired Celtic a lifeline which the towering McManus grasped.

McManus went on to claim a late double as Celtic came from two goals down to clinch a remarkable 3-2 win - a result which sends them seven points clear of Hearts and a staggering 17 points ahead of champions Rangers.

It was the stuff of which dreams aremadeandnowonder McManus couldnottakethegrin off hisgrizzly features as he prepared to travel back across the M8He said: "It wasaninterestingday to say the least. Hearts were great in the first half and you have to give them credit for that but we still believed in ourselves at half-time and felt we could get back into it.

"That said, I'm not sure anybody could have expected us to come back and win 3-2, especially after the way we played in that first half.

"And I certainly didn't expect to score the two goals that won the match."

McManus bludgeoned a way through four minutes from time when his header levelled the score on a day of explosive emotion at the bear-pit on Gorgie Road.

And he completed Celtic's extraordinary comeback in injury time when he jabbed the ball home past keeper Craig Gordon.

Hesaid: "I don't know if you could call it a cool finish. I fluked it in with the bottom of my studs! But, as a defender, you have to cherish these moments because they don't come around too often.

"It's certainly the first time I have scored twice in one game at senior level."

McManus was in his element as the studs began to fly. This is one tough customer and he was not about to baulk at the thought of mixing it with Graham Rix's lot who had promised to turn yesterday's contest into a battle.

He said: "Folk can talk all the like before games and say whatever they want to say.We take it all with a pinch of salt.

"We were certainly not worried about the physical side of things. If you are a physical player like myself then you relish these type of games.

"You get on with your job and leave the flashy stuff to the guys who are better players than yourself. That suits me fine."

For such a straightforward and uncomplicated character, there is little danger of McManus suddenly being filled with fanciful notions, despite slapping Hearts into place.

Celtic might have hitched a lift on his shoulders on their journey towards the SPL's holy grail but there is still some distance to go.

And McManus said: "We are not looking at it that way. We just came here looking for three points which would take us seven points clear of Hearts and we're delighted to have got them. But there is still a long, long way to go and we know from last year that anything can happen between now and May.

"But we are not the type of guys who take things for granted. We knowhowluckywearetobeplaying football for a living at a club like Celtic so we will not allow ourselves to get carried away - especially not on the first of January when there is such a long way still to go.'

Yet for Strachan, the stunning events in Edinburgh may yet prove critical. Not only have Celtic manoeuvred themselves clear of the chasing pack but, in Pearson, Strachan has found a dangerous weapon for the fights ahead.

The youngster has been waiting patiently for his chance and remains desperate to make a name for himself in Paradise even though it has often appeared as if his future might lie elsewhere.

Yesterday, as the transfer windows burst open, Pearson catapulted himself back into Strachan's plans.

The manager later described Pearson's arrival - he was sent on for Stilian Petrov after the Bulgarian pulled up with hamstring damage - as the turning point in this incredible contest.

And Strachan went on to describe the contributions of both Pearson and McManus as heroic.

He said: "I was disappointed at half-time but I sat the players down and told them I thought that if we scored one goal it might worry Hearts. That's what happens when you have played as well as they did in that first half.

"Once we got the goal the players started jumping higher, running faster and passing the ball better than they had done in the first half.

"And the most pleasing thing of all is that we had new heroes today in Pearson and McManus.

"There are guys who have been doing it here for five years but we need new heroes to help take the strain."

Pearson can now forget about looking elsewhere this winter - which will suit him just fine.

Strachan added: "With Stilian's injury and Stephen's performance it wouldn't be a clever man who would consider letting him move on now."

Taken from the Daily Record