Hartson hungry for success

By Alex O'Henley

Celtic FC striker John Hartson is hoping his side can pick up their first away points in this season's UEFA Champions League as they prepare for their Group A encounter with Belgian side RSC Anderlecht.

Important goal
The Wales striker is still recovering from an operation on his back during the summer, but returned to scoring form two weeks ago when he grabbed the only goal - his 50th for Celtic - away to city rivals Rangers FC in the first Old Firm derby of the Scottish season.

Back relief
Hartson, who missed the UEFA Cup final against FC Porto in Seville last season, is relieved to be back playing after an injury that turned out to be more serious than first thought.

Remarkable recovery
"One of the discs at the base of my spine burst," Hartson said. "The pain was so bad I couldn't do my laces and was barely able to walk. The medics say it takes up to a year to fully recover from back surgery, so to be back playing at the top level after just five months is brilliant."

Happy accident
Strangely, Hartson could have been playing for Rangers in this season's Champions League if a proposed move to Ibrox had not fallen through almost three years ago when the player failed a medical examination. However, in retrospect Hartson says the move to Celtic was the best thing that could have happened to him.

Glasgow destiny
"I was very upset when the move to Rangers didn't work out," he said. "But eight or nine months later Martin O'Neill spoke to me and said he wanted me to come here. Things happen for a reason and Rangers was obviously not meant to be for me. In hindsight Celtic has been the best move ever for me. I love it here and the fans are second to none."

Signing drought
Much has been made of Celtic's inability to sign new players during the summer, but Hartson is confident the squad that performed so well last season are capable of making further progress in Europe this year.

Squad strength
"We have a really good squad and the manager has shown tremendous faith in the players who did so well last season," he said. "I'm sure he could have brought in new players if he had kicked up a fuss, but after coming so close to winning a European trophy last season this team is still hungry for success.

Next opportunity
"We have an exceptionally good record at home in Europe as we showed two seasons ago when we beat Juventus [FC], Porto and Rosenborg [BK] here at Celtic Park. [FC] Bayern [München] and Anderlecht won't relish coming here but we know we have to pick up something on our travels and obviously the game against Anderlecht is the next opportunity for us to do that."

Fitting format
And with the Champions League moving to a knockout format after the first group stage this season, Hartson feels that, should they progress, the new set-up might suit Celtic after their exploits in last season's UEFA Cup.

Successful trips
"We had a couple of indifferent games at home against Blackburn Rovers [FC] and Liverpool [FC] when people thought we were out of the UEFA Cup, but we went down there and won both games convincingly," he said. "That shows you much we've progressed in the last two seasons and hopefully that experience will serve us well if we get to the knockout stage."