STRACHAN CREATING A TEAM OF VOLATILE BATTLERS

May 27 2007 Rob Maclean

THE BIGGEST worry for Walter Smith as he targets a title turnaround next season must be the way his Old Firm rival Gordon Strachan is recreating Celtic in his own image.

The back-to-back champions are already far too strong for the competition, or lack of it, with runaway wins in the last two seasons.

Strachan's first title success was clinched before the SPL split when they were 20 points in front with five games still to play.

That yawning gap could easily have been repeated in the season that's just finished had Celtic not switched to cruise control within sight of the chequered flag.

The most damning statistic for the SPL is that Scotland's top team won only three of their last nine league games and still ended the campaign with a 12-point advantage.

So Celtic are way ahead of the closest competition and showing clear signs, in the last couple of months, that they'll continue to build from a position of strength.

It's bad enough for Rangers that the two Scotts signed by Celtic, McDonald and Brown, were Ibrox transfer targets.

But what makes the double capture even more significant is that both players have that certain something that saw their new gaffer Strachan shine during his playing days.

The former Motherwell striker and the ex-Hibs midfielder are dynamic.

They are impact players who have that unique explosive ability to change any game.

Go back exactly two years in the case of McDonald and Celtic supporters know exactly what I'm talking about.

The little Aussie striker single-handedly destroyed their flag chances with a demolition double at Fir Park to hand Rangers the title.

But wee Scotty was no one-hit wonder. He scored the best part of 50 goals in three seasons with Motherwell and had to plough a lone furrow for much of the time without a serious strike partner.

Some see McDonald as a bench-warmer for Celtic. I'm not so sure, even allowing for other signings to come. If he gets an early chance he'll take it and there's no dropping him after that.

Finding the right partner for automatic choice Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has been nagging away at Strachan all season.

He has tried Kenny Miller, Maciej Zurawski, Craig Beattie, Derek Riordan and Jiri Jarosik in or around the attack and none of them has brought prolonged success.

You get the greatest guide to McDonald's striking ability by talking to SPL defenders - all of whom are a good bit bigger than him.

In a collective chorus, they'll tell you he's a pain in the a*** to play against and you only have to watch his perpetual motion style to see why. He makes chances, he takes chances and he never gives the opposition any peace from kick-off to the final whistle.

Twenty-three-year-old McDonald is still unproven at Champions League level but he won't disappoint in the domestic game.

And it's fair to say there are no doubts whatsoever about Scott Brown, which explains why Celtic have splashed out £4.4million to beat Rangers and other rival bidders to his signature.

For the last few seasons at Hibs, Brown has been the player who has lit the blue, or should that be green, touchpaper. He has that ability to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and drag it to a different level.

Scott doesn't score as many goals as he should.

But I'm sure that part of his play will develop and he certainly contributes more than enough to justify his place in any team.

And at 21, he already has the look of a Scotland regular.

He's only played a couple of times for the national team but, such has been his impact, Alex McLeish will struggle to leave him out.

It's clear that Strachan will build his Celtic midfield around the pace and power of Brown. There might be lots of questions about the Hoops' line-up for next season but one place is already taken.

Paul Hartley, another Rangers target to end up at Celtic, could become the sitting midfield player alongside Brown. Neil Lennon has vacated the anchor role and Hartley's attacking ventures have already been curbed since leaving Hearts.

Who plays where is all up for debate in the next couple of months but what can't be questioned is the calibre of these latest two Celtic arrivals.

They will snap and snarl and give the team an even more competitive edge.

The two Scotts will explode into action just when you're wondering where they've been.

And just like that little redhead Strachan did in his Aberdeen heyday when he unceremoniously knocked the Old Firm off their perch.

A lot of blinkered Celtic fans haven't forgiven their manager and still bear a grudge for his 'crimes against the Hoops'.

Instead they should be slapping him on the back for adding true grit to the team.