Much has been said of Gordon Strachan's 'squad rotation' system this season but in reality most changes in defence and up front have been due to injury. Scott Brown and Shunsuke Nakamura are assured of a starting slot and Aiden McGeady's form since his return to the team makes him a sure starter too. It seems that there's really only one slot left for 'rotation' and Paul Hartley and Marc Crosas are both vying for it. Boss Strachan likes the different qualities that each player brings to the team but he knows that a player combining all the characteristics of both would be out of his price range.
"Paul and Marc have got different qualities for different games." said Strachan. "It's not often you get a midfield player who can play any game at any time in any conditions. There are not many like that. And, if there are, they cost £10million-£15million. So I have to pick the best one at the time. But the good thing about Marc and Paul is that I know I can trust both of them."
Hartley is out of contract in the summer and it's thought that talks on extending his stay in Paradise will begin soon. The manager is a big fan of the versatile midfielder that he signed from Hearts two years ago and he'll be hoping that Peter Lawwell can reach a deal that will please both the player and the club. "Paul knows exactly what I think about him." said his boss. "And I believe everyone else does, too. Unfortunately, that does not clinch a deal."
His style of play has been altered since he arrived at Celtic but Hartley prefers to see the transformation from attacking midfielder to holding role as a positive move in his career and as a show of faith from his manager. "I don't have a problem with that." he said "The manager spoke to me about my role and I was more than willing to do it. I hadn't played out on the right for a while, but he needed someone to do a job."
"In the past, the manager has chosen me for the big games," he added. "and it's good that he can trust me on these occasions. I think he knows he can rely on me to put in a shift. Sometimes, it's about that extra bit of experience in these big games. He needs people he can trust and I am happy to play that role. We have a young squad and there's no doubt that I feel an extra responsibility to help the boys. It's tense in big games and if I can calm things down, great. Even going into extra-time in the final, I had a few words to gee people up."
News from the Scotland training camp earlier today stated that Paul has been ruled out of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Holland and Iceland because of a hamstring problem. The injury will be a huge blow to Scotland boss George Burley and it will also be a concern to Gordon Strachan and Celtic.