Strachan calls on Romanov to stop 'crying wolf'

GORDON Strachan, the Celtic manager, yesterday rounded on Vladimir Romanov and claimed Scottish football is growing collectively weary of the Hearts' owner's constant criticism of match officials.

With the dust still settling on Celtic's dramatic 2-1 victory over Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday, which stretched the Premierleague champions' lead at the top of the table to 13 points, Strachan confirmed that Romanov had blamed referee Craig Thomson for the Tynecastle club's defeat in a match they led 1-0 with four minutes remaining.

Clearly irritated by the outcome of his post-match conversation with Romanov, which came after he had praised Hearts caretaker manager Eduard Malofeev for his tactics, Strachan believes few people now give the Lithuanian banker's comments any credence.

"He (Romanov) was speaking to me and he did mention something about the referee," said Strachan. "I was just congratulating him and his coach on a smashing performance and I'm sure I heard, no doubt about it, the referee being mentioned. But there you go, I think it happens so often now, people think he's just crying wolf too often. We just get on with it. According to Mr Romanov, the referee helped us. Have we heard that before somewhere? I think we have. It's getting a bit repetitive now."

Hearts have already been fined £10,000 by the SFA for criticism of match officials made by Romanov on the club's official website this season, while an individual charge against their major shareholder is still pending. The source of his discontent with referee Thomson on Saturday is understood to be formed by the belief Celtic's equalising goal by Jiri Jarosik should have been disallowed for a foul by the Czech player on Hearts defender Ibrahim Tall.

Jarosik, who appeared as a substitute on Saturday, is likely to feature in a much-changed starting line-up for Celtic tonight as they turn their attention to the defence of the CIS Insurance Cup. Thomas Gravesen is set to make his return from injury, while Derek Riordan and Bobo Balde are also in Strachan's thoughts for the quarter-final tie against Falkirk at Parkhead as he looks to give some players a rest after a hectic period for his team.

The manager made it clear, however, that Celtic are fully committed to retaining the trophy as they seek a full set of domestic honours this season.

"There will be one or two changes, but the people who turn up will see some right good players, that's for sure," said Strachan.

"If you are at Celtic, and it's the same at Rangers, you have to be seen to try and win everything you enter. Your players have to want to win everything. You can't turn off the players' motivation and competitiveness. You can't just say 'right lads, we don't fancy this trophy'.

"We need to be at our best against Falkirk and we will have a strong side. We had a strong side against them a few weeks ago and were fortunate to win."

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, the Dutch international striker who made his return from injury as a substitute against Hearts, will also be handed a starting role tonight with Strachan savouring the increasing strength of his squad.

"It's nice to have Jan and Thomas back," he said. "Jan gave an edge to training when he rejoined us last week, and when he came on against Hearts he gave us an extra edge to our play we didn't have. We can't do anything without a good squad and the squad can be pleased with their performances. Since the transfer window shut, the side has been settled and that has been a key factor."

Strachan admits to some uncertainty over how his players will react mentally to the remarkable lead they hold in the title race after less than a third of the season, but believes the pressure remains firmly on Celtic no matter the health of their position.

"When we were behind Hearts last year, there was pressure," he said. "When we drew level with Hearts, there was pressure. When we were 17 points ahead of them, I remember still feeling pressure to beat them here to win the title. At no time can you relax, there is always some kind of pressure here.

"If I see things that say we are relaxing, then I have to deal with it every day. Whether it is the team, whether it is individuals. I don't know how they will handle it. Not many people have been in this position, it's uncharted territory for most of us. It is new to some of our players, but they have to deal with having to win every game."

Falkirk assistant manager Brian Rice believes the Bairns will have their work cut out to cause a cup upset.

He said: "We're looking forward to it. We've earned the right to go and play on this stage and face the Scottish champions. We gave them a competitive game a few weeks ago in the league and we'll now look to do the same.

"It'll be really hard for us but we'll give it a go. It doesn't matter what team they put out, it's Celtic we're talking about, they have so much strength in depth."

Falkirk have no fresh injury worries although Graham Barrett, Craig Ireland, Pedro Moutinho and Tiago Rodrigues all still sidelined.

Taken from the Scotsman