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| <-Page | <-Team | Sat 30 Dec 2006 Kilmarnock 0 Hearts 0 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ Players | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Valdas Ivanauskas | <-auth | MARTIN GREIG | auth-> | Douglas McDonald |
| 21 | of 051 | ----- ----- | L SPL | A |
Elvis has them all shook upMARTIN GREIG December 30 2006 If Steven Pressley ever decides to write an autobiography, then the past two months will provide enough material to fill several chapters. The Elvis story has been the most compelling drama in Scottish football over recent times and took another twist yesterday when he turned down the advances of Premiership side Charlton Athletic to sign for Celtic until May 2008. There was something surreal in witnessing Pressley, a bona fide Hearts legend, perched beside Celtic manager Gordon Strachan yesterday evening, extolling the virtues of his new club. The 33-year-old also betrayed an element of disbelief at the turn of events which led to him signing on at Celtic Park. In truth, he never thought he would have to make the kind of decision he has faced over the past 24 hours, but expressed pleasure and relief at opting for the Scottish champions. "I had a significantly better contract offered to me at Charlton, but this was very much a footballing decision," he said. "My heart was telling me to come here. I have a good relationship with Gordon and the coaching staff, and the pull of this club was too great for me to turn down. "I never thought I'd have to make a decision like this in my career and I wanted to make sure I was making it for the right reasons. I wanted to assess all the opportunities out there. Charlton are a very good club and have employed a very good manager [Alan Pardew], but the pull of this club was too great. "At this stage of my career, I want to be winning things and that's no disrespect to Charlton who, at this moment, have a relegation battle on their hands. I've still got a lot to do in my footballing career. I experienced winning silverware for the first time in eight-and-a-half years at Hearts last season and it was a wonderful moment. At this club there's an expectation level to win trophies on a regular basis, and that excites me." January 14 will be ringed on Pressley's calendar as the date Celtic travel to Tynecastle to take on his former club. It will be an emotional occasion for the former Hearts captain, but one to which he is already looking forward. "It looked very much like I was destined to finish my career there [Hearts]," he said. "Unfortunately, circumstances changed and I've been forced to make a footballing decision. "It will certainly be strange to go back there and sit in the away dressing room. When you have such an affection for a football club then it is hard to go back with another team, but my passion is football. I'm looking forward to the challenges here. I've got a lot to prove. I have a fantastic opportunity at this stage in my career and it is one I'm going to relish." The manner in which Pressley was jettisoned from Hearts by owner Vladimir Romanov, after speaking out against his running of the club, was deemed to be off-limits at yesterday's press conference. Rather than being bound by the terms of a confidentiality agreement, however, the 33-year-old simply seemed uncomfortable speaking about a situation which has clearly cut him deep. "It was emotional," he said of his departure. "Since I left, almost four weeks ago, there have been factors that have taken me so long to make a decision. "One was the birth of my daughter and the other was that it took me several weeks to get over the fact that I'd no longer be playing there [Tynecastle], and to clear my mind. "I'd like to thank the people that have sent some lovely letters of support. My most enjoyable times at Tynecastle were those when my sole concentration was on playing football and I'll certainly get the opportunity here. I honestly think that I have three or four years ahead of me. I want to give myself the best possible chance over those years by solely concentrating on football." Pressley has not played since Hearts' 0-0 draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle on November 25, but will be available for selection on January 2 against Kilmarnock. "I've been Forrest Gumping it for the last four weeks," he said jokingly. "My aerobic fitness is at a reasonable level but I'm unsure about my football-specific levels. I'll be able to assess that once I start training again." Pressley's arrival could not be more timely following the loss of Bobo Balde for a minimum of three months with a broken leg sustained against Dundee United on Boxing Day. It was the latest in a string of defensive setbacks. Mark Wilson, the first-choice right-back, is already out with damaged knee ligaments and Gary Caldwell is another long-term casualty, while Stephen McManus has been struggling with a groin problem. Strachan freely admits that his side have not been firing on all cylinders recently, but highlighted the commitment of his walking wounded as pivotal in sustaining their momentum. "At this time of year, it is not great football, but we are hard to beat," said the Celtic manager. "How does that come about? Well, there's a few examples. "[Mark] Wilson playing at Old Trafford with a broken foot for 15 minutes, Wilson again at Ibrox when he done his knee ligaments and we couldn't get him off – he didn't even tell us. [Lee] Naylor playing with four stitches in his shin at Ibrox. Jiri [Jarosik] playing on with eight stitches in his shin. Mick [McManus] playing on with his groin strain." Darren O'Dea, the 19-year-old defender, is likely to partner McManus at centre-half against Motherwell this afternoon. Scott Cuthbert, the reserve team captain, will probably be recalled from his loan spell at Livingston to provide cover on the bench. At the other end of the pitch, Strachan's strikers continue to endure a barren spell and he admitted that it is starting to become a concern. "We've not got easy games just now because we are not scoring enough goals. It's a concern for the lot of us. We'd like to see our strikers score more goals. In saying that, the midfielders have gone beyond the call of duty. Thomas [Gravesen] has got six, Naka's [Shunsuke Nakamura] eight and Jiri [Jarosik] four. Thank goodness for that." Nakamura rescued a point for Celtic on Boxing Day and Strachan remains in thrall of the Japanese midfielder's talents. "Someone who sits in the stand not far from [the dugout] says that [Nakamura] can't head the ball and he can't tackle. So what? He doesn't give the ball away and he does tackle. He actually works as hard as anyone I've seen getting up and down the pitch. "As for heading, we have plenty of people who can do that. He can do anything with the ball. But that's a typical Scottish mentality: if they run about and clatter into people, they're good players." Strachan also confirmed that he is still in discussions with Shaun Maloney about extending his contract beyond the end of the season. The attacking midfielder is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club from January 1. "We're still chatting away, as we do, so, hopefully we can get something done," said Strachan. Maloney has still to return to training, but Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has now returned to light training after his hamstring injury, though he will miss the trip to Fir Park today.  Taken from the Herald |
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