Norway must beware Shaun Maloney threat, warns John Carew

Oct 5 2008 By Gavin Berry

JOHN CAREW fears his old pal Shaun Maloney will come back to haunt him on Saturday.

The Norway striker was a huge admirer of the Celtic man during their days at Aston Villa and marvelled at his deadly free-kicks.

And he fears wee Shaun will pose a huge danger to his country's World Cup bid when they line up as rivals in the Hampden crunch.

Carew was disappointed when Maloney returned to Parkhead after failing to settle south of the border.

The towering Norway hitman said: "Shaun was a really good player and it was sad to see him go - but he didn't succeed as much as he wanted to at Aston Villa.

"He will be a real weapon, a sensation, for Celtic this season and a big threat to us for Scotland.

"He has great quality on the ball and great, quick feet. Technically he is brilliant.

"He takes a fantastic free-kick and is a superb passer. He would be a great asset to any team.

"Shaun scored some good freekicks at Villa, curling them over the wall and in to the corners of the net.

"I have nice memories of Shaun - I hope he doesn't spoil that against us on Saturday."

Former Hoops boss Martin O'Neill splashed out £1m to take Maloney to Villa Park last January.

But Carew reckons it was a lack of games that made up Maloney's mind to return to Scotland.

He said: "Shaun never spoke to me about being homesick but I can imagine him being the type who wants his friends and family near.

"He also needs to play. If you're not in the first team regularly and you have ambition, it hits you badly.

"When he was being left out at Villa, I began to realise he could be leaving us."