Promising Signs from Mowbray's Celtic

It is never a good idea to get carried away by a good start, and after just three competitive games it is no more than that, but the transformation in Celtic's play under Tony Mowbray is startling.

The first match—the Champions League qualifier at home to Dinamo Moscow, was a disappointing 0-1 loss, but there were encouraging signs for those who chose to look for them.

Against a Russian side half-way through their domestic season, a ring-rusty Celtic struggled to find their rythmn, but despite this, enough chances were created to have won the match.

The return in Moscow was a different story. With new loan-signing Landry N'Guemo and the revitalised Massimo Donati dominating midfield, Celtic were in control throughout and fully deserved their 1-0 halftime lead.

It took until stoppage time at the end of the 90 minutes for Georgios Samaras (another player re-energised since Mowbray's arrival) to score the winner, but it had seemed an inevitability given the relentless waves of Celtic pressure in the final 30 minutes.

An away match against Aberdeen would have been approached with some trepidation by Celtic's 2008/09 vintage, but in a breathtaking 45 minutes of football, the Dons were swept away by some superb football. The 3-0 lead at half-time could easily have been five, but for some poor finishing.

Understandably, the pace slackened in the second half, with Tuesday's match against Arsenal on a lot of minds, but Aberdeen never threatened a comeback.

What had brought about the surge in optimism surrounding Celtic? In two words, Tony Mowbray.

The work is as yet incomplete, but Mowbray has set about addressing the deficiencies in the team. Danny Fox has been signed for £1.5m from Coventry and looks solid and assured at left back.

He has a terrific left foot and in his early outings has shown a calmness under pressure and excellent distribution as well as bringing a welcome physical presence to the left side of the defence.

Paul Hartley and the incomparable Shunsuke Nakamura have been lost from midfield, but Landry N'Guemo, signed on a season long loan (with an option to buy) from Nancy has been a revelation. Tenacious, hardworking, and skillful, he rarely wastes a pass and has brought an energy and drive, coupled with tactical awareness to the side.

Up front, the biggest name in football, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, has been replaced by Marco-Antoine Fortune, a £3.8m signing from Nancy. Fortune is not a prolific scorer, and already looks like he will be this season's whipping boy for both the Scottish media and a section of the support.

While he may not score many, Fortune has already brought pace, power and mobility to the attack and while Tony Mowbray will downplay the importance of his scoring record, even at this stage it is vital for Fortune to get himself on the scoresheet as quickly as possible.

Away games last season were excruciating to watch, with Celtic invariably huffing and puffing against teams with a fraction of the talent at their disposal. More often than not, supporters would endure a frantic last five minutes as the team chased a late winner or even equaliser. Yesterday at Pittodrie could not have been more different.

I wrote on this site in May that the Celtic team often seemed to be shackled by Gordon Strachan. Yesterday, Tony Mowbray let them off the leash.

Artur Boruc's most significant contribution to the match was to pick the ball out of the net in the 61st minute. Apart from that, he had very little to do.

Andreas Hinkel and Fox provided pace on the overlap and good delivery into the box. With nominal wingers Aiden McGeady and Shaun Maloney given a freer role, their overlapping runs will be a feature of Celtic's play this season.

In the centre of defence, Glenn Loovens and Darren O'Dea provided a solidity lacking for much of last season and Charlie Mulgrew's freekicks, which wreaked havoc in the Celtic backline last season, were dealt with with little fuss. Ironically, both could make way once Stephen McManus and Gary Caldwell are available again.

A solid platform was provided in the middle by N'Guemo and Donati, both looking sharp, both playing with their heads up and both able to spray accurate passes forward and to the wings. Once thing both must ensure is that there are no lapses in concentration as both have a tendency to be too casual at times.

Although McGeady claimed the limelight with two goals, Maloney was the more dangerous of the wide midfielders, especially in the first half. They have all the attributes to be great players, but must improve on their final balls. On too many occasions yesterday, the took the wrong option when in promising positions, or took the right option only for poor execution to let them down.

Fortune and Scott McDonald have the makings of a good partnership up front. Fortune is ever willing to drop deep or go out wide, dragging his marker with him, leaving acres of room for McDonald, as well as McGeady and Maloney to exploit.

This starting eleven will evolve as the season progresses and players like Scott Brown, Georgios Samaras, Chris Killen, Stephen McManus, and Gary Caldwell will be looking to force their way in.

Tony Mowbray has bought well, and so far got the best from some of last season's underperformers. He has also shown an ability to make the right tactical changes at the right time, together with a willingness to experiment.

With Moscow threatening to score an equaliser last Wednesday, Fortune was withdrawn on 60 minutes to be replaced by Scott Brown. instead of the expected switch to a five-man midfield to stifle Moscow, Brown was played just behind McDonald and the flow of the game changed in Celtic's direction, with Brown proving too hot for the Russians to handle.

Another surprising move has been that of Massimo Donati to central defence, where the previously lackadaisical Italian has shown a willingness to stand strong.

Deficiencies from last season remain. Shunsuke Nakamura has not been replaced, and realistically speaking, maybe cannot be replaced on Celtic's budget. More seriously, the lack of a 20 goals a season striker to partner Scott McDonald has not been addressed. If anything derails this season's championship challenge, it will be this.

It never pays to get too carried away, but if Celtic can carry on in their present vein, it promises to be an exciting season.