Greek international Georgios Samaras produced a Man-of-the-Match performance against Aberdeen on Saturday, and scored two goals in the process, before leaving the field to a rapturous ovation from the stands. The goals brought his tally to four in the last three games and manager Tony Mowbray was pleased that the big striker's contribution to the team was recognised by the fans. 
- in a rich vein of form
"I think Samaras has been excellent for the last four to six weeks." said Mowbray. "In Hamburg in the Europa League he was unbelievable, unplayable almost. He has just qualified for the World Cup with Greece and that will have lifted him. He is a wonderful professional, Georgios. He is a guy that, whenever we ask him to do something, he tries to do it. I am delighted for him that, given his work ethic, he has got in on the goals in recent games."
"Strikers live off goals, they thrive off them." continued the boss. "When they score one goal they want another one and they get hungrier and hungrier. That is why Fortune finds himself on the bench just now. Both strikers have hit of rich vein of scoring form. Georgios, at times, probably holds onto the ball a little bit too long and that trait invites challenges, but he has got a huge physical presence about him and has the strength to hold these challenges off. But I am not here to change his game. What he does is exceptionally good for the team. I like my strikers to hold onto the ball at times and draw defenders towards them and create space."
There has been speculation in the Greek press recently linking the striker with a return home, with both AEK Athens and Olympiakos mentioned as suitors, but Georgios sought to put the conjecture to rest yesterday. "I wish and hope to remain at Celtic for a very long time," he told the Greek media. "It is a very good club. I have heard of proposals from Greece when I was younger, when I was in Manchester and now that I am with Celtic. I was not intrigued or interested and they already knew my answer. All the teams from Athens have approached me."
"I wanted to declare how satisfied I am in this association with the club and I would really leave only for something much better." added Celtic's number 9. "The supporters here are very passionate. Last season, I had a lot of pressure on me when I returned from injury and did not score for two months. But Celtic supported me a lot, as did the manager. Romanticism still exists at Celtic. While the club has money, they keep balances in the team, with enough local players and others from Ireland."