Journalist says one Celtic player can "make himself an instant hero" with fans in Old Firm clash

Celtic striker Georgios Giakoumakis could make himself an ‘instant hero’ with the club’s supporters if he fires them to a famous Old Firm derby victory, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Hoops are set to take on their bitter rivals Rangers in an intriguing clash on Sunday in a fixture that could go a long way to deciding the destination of the Scottish Premiership title.

Giakoumakis arrived at Celtic Park last summer from Dutch second division side VVV-Venlo in a deal worth up to £2.5 million.

The Greece international rose to prominence in 2020/21 after registering an eye-watering 29 goals and two assists in 33 appearances for VVV, although he couldn’t prevent their relegation from the Eredivisie.

Upon his arrival in Glasgow, Giakoumakis put pen to paper on a five-year contract and labelled Celtic ‘one of the world’s great football clubs with the best fans around’.

However, things got off to a tricky start for the 6 foot 1 ace. Injuries disrupted his rhythm and a natural settling in period saw Giakoumakis score just once in 2021 for Ange Postecoglou’s charges in his first eight outings.

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But the target man has begun to find his best form since the turn of the year, registering 11 goals and one assist in his last 14 appearances across all competitions.

A hat-trick last time out against Ross County will have done no harm to Giakoumakis’ confidence heading into arguably the biggest game of Celtic’s season so far, and he could have a big part to play over the weekend.

Giakoumakis was unable to get on the scoresheet the last time Celtic took on the Gers, yet O’Rourke believes he can establish himself as a fan’s