Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura has revealed how manager Gordon Strachan wants his players to show the spirit of two former Hoops heroes as they seek their second Bank of Scotland Premier League title in a row.
The Parkhead side are stumbling in pursuit of the title towards the championship and Saturday's 1-0 win over Motherwell, courtesy of a Derek Riordan goal just after the interval, was their first win since they were eliminated from the last 16 of the Champions League by AC Milan on 7 March.
Strachan tried to rally his troops by pointing to Stilian Petrov and John Hartson, who were both instrumental in helping the Celtic boss to his first title win last season before they left Parkhead to join Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion respectively.
And the champions-elect looked like they could have used the energetic Bulgarian midfielder and the burly Welsh striker as they struggled to dispose of a spirited but limited Fir Park side.
The Japan international said: 'The manager was furious at half-time and after the game.
'He told the players that Petrov and Hartson had played with character and we had to live up to that.'
