Lennon: Samaras needs to feel he’s loved

Let’s just say Georgios Samaras was a player who had to prove to me he wanted to help me take Celtic forward.

When I was handed the post on a permanent basis in the summer of 2010, there were players I knew I wanted to work with and players I knew had to be moved on.

What side did Sammi feature on? If I’m being honest, he probably slotted in somewhere in between.

Ability wise, there was no doubt he was good enough. He has everything a manager would want in an attacking player pace, power, good technical ability and the bonus of being good in the air.

But he was so inconsistent. You never quite knew exactly what you were going to get from the second he crossed that white line. And it is that type of player that probably frustrates a manager more than any other, as you are never sure what they are going to bring to the team.

However, I knew if I could get him operating at the level he was capable of, then I would have a top player on my hands. For me, it was all about getting in his head. Sammi is the type of player that needs to feel loved so I showed him the love! I quickly realised he was someone who thrived on responsibility and that is why he went on to become one of our best players.

If you look at our achievements in the Champions League, he was outstanding for us and the way we set the team up.

When you know you are going to have to defend for large spells, then you need a player who can get you up the park and offer his team-mates a bit of respite and we got that with Sammi. And that is why I think he’ll have an outstanding World Cup with Greece because that is exactly the way they’ll set-up.

Basically, they will adopt similar tactics to what we did at Celtic when we were playing against the likes of Barcelona. They’ll sit in, soak up the pressure and try to hit opponents on the break.

Before he left to join up with Greece, I had a word with him and told him not to return from Brazil with any regrets. I warned him to be Samaras The Star Turn rather than Samaras The Frustrating Forward.

And I also believe he saved himself a bit for the World Cup. His contract was expiring at the end of the season with Celtic, and he always had one eye on moving.

Well, he has the perfect platform. I’d imagine right now he’ll have the choice of a few clubs in leading leagues such as Spain, Germany and Italy. That is where I’m sure he will end up. But if he plays as well as we all know he can, then he’ll have his pick of clubs.

It is going to be difficult for Greece to progress, but in Sammi they boast a player who delivers on the big stage.

The other three Celtic players travelling to Brazil are Fraser Forster, Efe Ambrose and Emilio Izaguirre.

Maybe making the England squad was a major success story for big Fraser but I was disappointed not to see him play against Ecuador. Ben Foster didn’t cover himself in glory, so perhaps Fraser will be second choice now?

Ambrose will play at right-back for Nigeria and they’ve improved hugely from a defensive perspective. I’d like to think he’ll give a good account of himself.

Izaguirre will have his work cut out trying to help Honduras getting out their group, but he’s a fine attacking full-back and he’ll perform well.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on all four of them because you always want to see players you have worked so closely with enjoying success.

It’s a great achievement for Celtic being represented at the competition.