Celtic head down to Ayrshire for tonight's SPL match against Kilmarnock and the bad news for Killie is that their nemesis, Shunsuke Nakamura, is bang on form after his hat-trick against St Mirren at the weekend. Killie boss, 'Laughing' Jim Jefferies, has almost given up on stopping Naka following the failure of 'Operation Bludgeon' on Celtic's last visit. The slightly built Japanese midfielder was the recipient of some shocking challenges from Kilmarnock's hammer throwers which unsurprisingly went unpunished by the officials.
Glenn Loovens has some advice to offer Kilmarnock as they seek to prevent Nakamura scoring with one of his trademark free kicks "Don't give the free-kicks away!" said Glenn "That would be the best thing because if it's in a great position we all know what he's capable of, so the best thing is to keep him as far from the goal as possible."
It may be a sound piece of advice but Saturday's total football display from the Japanese international midfielder showed that on his day he is the complete player, that there is so much more to his game than the ability to score from set pieces. "I thinks everyone knows what a great player he is and that he can make a difference like we saw the other day,," said Loovens, " so let's hope he scores a few again tonight. Scoring a lot of goals is what the team needed. It's good for the confidence as it's always nice to get a good win, especially as we have a lot of games coming up.
It's a frustrating time for the Dutch central defender as the manager continues to put his faith in the tried and trusted McManus-Caldwell partnership for most games. "For me I just have to wait for the gaffer to put me in again" said Loovens. "As I said, there are a lot of games coming up and I hope I get another 90 minutes. Of course you want to play in every game but that's a decision the manager makes, so for me it's just a case of working hard and if he needs me I'm there. We have strong squad as it's been important all season to change the team a lot and we really need every player now. We know that if a player gets injured or is suspended that we have enough depth to fill it."
Glenn's advice to Jim Jefferies could be filed in the 'teaching granny to suck eggs' folder. The glum Kilmarnock gaffer visibly sagged when asked about his tactics to combat Naka's free kicks. "What can you do?" sighed Sunny Jim, "Manchester United have a keeper who stands 6ft 6in and Naka did him twice in the Champions League. He is an exceptional talent and showed that with his hat-trick against St Mirren."
"We have tried to put someone back on one post and he puts it in the other corner." said the long-faced Killie boss, "You have just got to hope it's not a quality free-kick. But we are not the only team he has done it to. It is very difficult to defend. Managers have tried different things and you have to hope the keeper sees enough and adjusts quickly and you don't give daft free-kicks away."
Italian Manuel Pascali is looking forward to pitting his wits against the Celtic midfield tonight. The Killie midfielder thinks that Celtic will lift the title again this season because they have the more skillful side. "Rangers are more powerful and physical but Celtic have talented players who are hard to compete with when they are on fire." he said "Naka scored a hat-trick on Saturday and if that kind of player is on form it is difficult for anyone to stop them. He is strange because he can deliver the ball with his left foot or right and it is so tough to play against him. But it is a great pleasure to face someone such as him so you can compare yourself."