Hartson seeks Shakhtar reward

By Trevor Haylett

As a proud Welshman the last ten days have been something close to purgatory for John Hartson but at least the immediate future holds the promise of a change in fortune. He is hoping to secure a new contract with Celtic FC and is anxious to help get their UEFA Champions League campaign up and running with a first win at FC Shakhtar Donetsk.

World Cup defeats
Hartson may have come off the bench last Wednesday to score for Wales against Poland, but their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying quest took another wrong turn with a 3-2 defeat which followed a more bruising reverse against England. It will be a matter of regret for the muscular centre-forward for some time to come that he was able to make little impression on the English defence.

Back operation
He has scored three goals in five international fixtures this season but is the first to admit that his best form still eludes him after an operation in March to cure a serious back problem. It brought a premature end to his 2003/04 campaign while a similar injury 12 months before had forced him to miss the UEFA Cup final against FC Porto.

Feeling discomfort
"The operation was a success and the back is fine now but I do not quite feel as comfortable with my game as I should be," Hartson told uefa.com. "It is something that I have spoken to [Celtic manager] Martin O'Neill about and as someone who always says the striking positions are the most important on the field I knew he would be concerned. Maybe I think about things too much, worrying about impressing the manager. Maybe it's just reassurance that I'm looking for."

Domestic goals
Despite his fears, Hartson scored in a 3-0 victory against Heart of Midlothian FC at the weekend, raising his Scottish Premier League total to seven while cementing Celtic's five-point advantage at the top of the table. In contrast he has only one Champions League goal to his name in three campaigns and would love to add to that in Ukraine on Wednesday. Like Celtic, Shakhtar are seeking their first Group F point.

New contract
The Champions League is an important factor for the former Arsenal FC striker as he seeks to secure a new deal with Celtic and continue an association with the Glasgow club beyond the end of this season. Six months away from his 30th birthday he knows it is almost certainly the last major contract of his career and having settled in Scotland he is hoping to stay around a little longer.

'Great club'
"I have told the manager that I want to stay," said Hartson. "So hopefully something can be sorted out. We are moving to a new house, my daughter is at school here and my son, who's coming up to two, was born in Scotland so there are lots of reasons to stay. Celtic are a great club to play for and if I'm honest I can't see myself coming back to play in England. We have a good chance of taking part in the Champions League every season whereas down south the places go to the top four teams and I don't think they'll be interested in signing me at my age.

'Fantastic competition'
"The Champions League is a fantastic competition, we have played two matches this season and each was against a glamour side, [FC] Barcelona and AC Milan. There were 15,000 cheering us on in the San Siro - Celtic have the best fans in the world."