The Return of the Beautiful Game​

The beautiful game returns to Celtic Park as Celtic entertain Falkirk on Saturday, the Bhoys first game since the one each draw with Rangers on the 3rd of January.

In the fortnight since our last game the squad has seen some movements with new faces being brought in and familiar ones moving on. Barry Robson, Willow Flood and Chris Killen have all left to join former manager Gordon Strachan at Middleborough while Gary Caldwell decided against joining them on the Riverside and instead opted for a move to English Premiership strugglers Wigan.

While four departed for pastures new, two signings were added to the squad - South Korean midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng and Dutch central defender Jos Hooiveld. With Hooiveld only starting back at pre-season training at the start of January it is unlikely that he will be in the team to face Falkirk as he strives to get his match fitness up to the speed of the rest of the squad. Ki however has a much better chance of making the squad after impressing during training since his arrival at the start of the month.

Ki Sung-Yueng hoping to make his Bhoys debut​

Tony Mowbray has given a clear indication that he is looking for a leader to impose their character on the squad as he said:

“He’s (Hooiveld) a character, will bring a winning mentality and is a good personality to have around the club. We need to find the next leaders for the team. Jos is working hard, but we’ll give him a few weeks of training and see how he feels”

Bit of a character but not quite match sharp and will have to wait to make his debut​

With two first team regulars leaving and Landry N’Guemo on international duty at the African Cup of Nations there are places up for grabs, especially in the midfield and the question seems to be who will join McGeady in the midfield berths with Crosas, McGinn, McCourt, Zheng Zhi and Ki all vying for the three available spots.

Scott Brown and Shaun Maloney are both still injured, although both have stepped up their training and are expected back sooner rather than later, however, Mowbray has stressed neither will be rushed back.

Scott McDonald had to go for a hernia operation which leaves strike options rather limited with only Samaras and Fortuné the recognised strikers at Tony Mowbray’s disposal following the departure of Killen.

Falkirk have also seen some new faces to their squad with Enoch Showunmi, Colin Healy and Jack Compton all hoping to make their debut, however, the Celtic game may come one week too soon for former hoops player Jackie McNamara as he regains his fitness after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Celtic (from): Boruc, Loovens, McManus, Fox, Hinkel, Fortune, McGeady, Crosas, Samaras, Zheng, McGinn, Wilson, Ki, Caddis, Zaluska, Forrest, McCourt.

Falkirk (from): Olejnik, Barr, McLean, Pele, Twaddle, Arfield, Lima, Healy, Flynn, Finnigan, Moutinho, Wagenaar, Mitchell, Compton, Showunmi, O'Brien, Bullen, Marceta.