Celtic's Within Three Points Of The Championship!

The Bhoys Can Claim The Title Against Killie In Two Weeks' Time

Champions Celtic moved within three points of clinching their 41st league title after a goal from sub Derek Riordan secured a 1-0 home win over Motherwell. Riordan, who came on as a first half sub for Maciej Zurawski, struck the winner after 56 minutes from a headed knock down by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. "We were a nervous club today on the field and off the field," Celtic manager Gordon Strachan said after the game. "We have six, seven, eight who have never won a championship before and they are finding it very strange. We played better in the previous four games and didn't win and that's how crazy the game is." Celtic have 78 points from 33 games and can win the SPL title if they beat Kilmarnock on Sunday April 22nd.

After Saturday's game Lee Naylor played down the effects of an impatient Parkhead crowd, who are growing increasingly frustrated as the weeks go on. He said: "If you start letting things like that affect you then you shouldn't really be here. We knew it was going to be hard, there are no easy games. But we played our game, we passed the ball and we showed a lot of confidence. We kept probing and chances were coming, we just needed to put one away. As it was getting late on you obviously feel 'is this going to happen again?' but everyone kept positive, kept going and we got what we wanted in the end."

Shunsuke Nakamura hailed Derek Riordan as a "special talent" after he grabbed the only goal of the game in Saturday's 1-0 win over Motherwell. Nakamura believes the lively performance of the former Hibernian attacker came as a welcome boost for the Hoops. "Derek is a special talent and there is something always lively about him when he is on the pitch," said the Japanese internationalist. "He has a lot of energy and it is good to have someone like that playing alongside you. He has a special gift and other players can help him to make the most of that when he is out on the pitch. Derek can keep the ball well and that makes a difference. It is also really useful to have a player like that who you know is capable of coming on and making an impact in the game."

Rumors claim Gordon Strachan is considering a move for Borussia Dortmund's swiss striker Alexander Frei. Frei, 28, is a Swiss footballer, currently playing for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga, as a striker. He signed a 4-year contract with Borussia Dortmund on June, 29th. Dortmund paid a transfer fee of aproximately 5 million euros for him. Frei was the highest goalscorer in the French league for the 2004-05 season with 20 goals, and was named Swiss footballer of the year the same season. He played for Switzerland at Euro 2004 and at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany.

Gordon Strachan has called on the Celtic squad to set an example to supporters who indulge in anti-social behavior at football matches, but the Celtic manager takes issue with the fact that such individuals are permitted inside stadia at all. The manager said: "We have to be aware of our responsibilities and hopefully show the crowd how to behave. Crowd behavior nowadays is pretty horrific. Twenty-five years ago all the hooligans and morons were in one corner and you could see them singing and fighting each other. Now there is a yob culture all around the pitch. I remember when I worked with the BBC, I wanted to highlight yobbish behavior. I remember a man and a kid at Chelsea every week, and their signs whenever someone was taking a corner were horrific; I wanted to highlight that. If a camera focused on people like that and labeled them the moron or yob of the week, that would get people to behave. I think in general, players are well behaved but we allow the yob culture to take over because people pay £20 and are allowed to say anything they want; that shouldn't happen."