Look back in danger

NEIL Lennon looks at Craig Beattie these days and struggles to recognise the raw, gangly kid he once knew.

But he could hardly fail to acknowledge the danger his former team-mate poses to his side's chances of reaching the William Hill Scottish Cup final. The 28-year-old, who learned the art of striking play under Martin O'Neill alongside the likes of Chris Sutton, Henrik Larsson and John Hartson, has reminded Scottish football of his abilities as a strong running target man at Tynecastle in the last month or so, and brings a physicality to today's encounter which will have to be tamed by the Parkhead side's central defenders if they are to retain hopes of a league and cup double.

"He's a great kid," said the Nothern Irishman. "He was here as a young boy and he had really raw natural talent. He's very powerful and quick, but he had a horrendous time with injuries and that curtailed his career a bit. I am pleased to see him playing consistently and I think he has made a huge difference to Hearts. He has given them a different dimension altogether in forward areas. I think a bit of the rawness has gone from his game now, his technique in terms of taking the ball in is a lot better. His footballing intelligence has improved and that comes with maturity and experience. He's not as dynamic as he was, but is still strong and powerful and has a speed about him. I think his all-round game has got better."

If the raw material of Beattie's first period in Scottish football was a respectable 16 goals in 22 starts – many more appearances came from the bench – the highlights included a critical winning goal against Hearts the week before so-called Helicopter Sunday in 2005, the equaliser in the 4-4 draw at Motherwell in Gordon Strachan's first SPL match in charge and a stunning drive the following week against Dundee United. A couple of hamstring injuries followed, before the player moved to West Brom for £1.25million in 2007, then spent a couple of seasons on the books at Swansea, mainly being passed about from loan clubs such as Crystal Palace, Preston and Watford.

"He was there or thereabouts at Celtic and then he had a really bad hamstring tear," Lennon said. "I think he did it twice. He always showed these bursts of quality that took your breath away, but he's more rounded in terms of his football now. Craig will stretch teams He will take defenders away and maybe leave little gaps between the midfield and back four where Rudi Skacel thrives."

Beattie won't be the only rejuvenated front man in attendance at Hampden this lunchtime. Georgios Samaras has been openly jeered by his own fans on occasion this season, but few players received a louder ovation than him when they trooped off Rugby Park last Saturday. The Greek last night spoke of his admiration for the way the Tynecastle club have largely refused to allow the financial chaos afflicting their club affect their morale this season, and admitted he sees a parallel with the way his Greek national side put a smile back on the faces of a population ravaged by stringent public sector cutbacks by qualifying for this summer's Euro 2012 competition.

"It's normal in Greece for your salary to be late," Samaras said. "But I respect the Hearts players for the way they have played and kept working through it. They have kept trying to do their best for the club and that says a lot. When you love football, you love the game, you don't think about money, you just go for glory.

"Football gives you feelings and expressions you cannot find in other sports," he added. "What we try to do is give happiness to some people. We felt that against Croatia when we played them at home and won 2-0 and we qualified for the European finals in the last game. We felt we'd done something special, we'd given a smile to some people and that's very important."

If such financial turmoil is one reason why Samaras is in no hurry to return home, both manager and player appear to be more than content with the current arrangement. The Greek has prospered since a "relaxed" chat with his manager in November finally led to a regular run in the team. "I'm not a quitter," said Samaras. "When I see a problem I just think 'OK, I'll deal with that'."

And unlike his former Manchester City pals Micah Richards and Joe Hart, he already has a title in the bag. "Manchester City were great, they have a lot of money and great players and I still keep in touch with friends there," Samaras said. "I want them to do well, but it's not always just about the money. To win a title needs different things, and Manchester United know the small details which makes the difference."

Unfortunately, not every football career gets a happy ending. Amid the restructuring of the squad which will be needed at Parkhead this season, Lennon hinted last night that this could be the end of Mark Wilson's Celtic career – a period which has been blighted by knee injuries. "I haven't spoken to Mark yet, but with us bringing in Lustig and the emergence of Adam Matthews, it might be difficult for him to retain his place here and he might want to look going elsewhere," Lennon said. "If he does, he goes with our blessing because he has been magnificent for the club."

Taken from the Herald