Stephen Halliday: Unable to stomach a lunchtime kick-off, Samaras may become Celtic's cup scapegoat

When Rangers lost to Berwick Rangers in the Scottish Cup in 1967, widely considered the greatest upset of all time in the tournament until the past few days, forwards Jim Forrest and George McLean were made the scapegoats and never played for the Ibrox club again.

Just ten years ago, Ian Wright was the front man quickly hunted out of town when Celtic suffered their own previous Scottish Cup nadir at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

So when the team-sheets were issued at Celtic Park on Tuesday night, it was easy to wonder if Georgios Samaras is destined to be the man who carries the can for last Saturday's convulsive semi-final defeat against First Division Ross County at Hampden.

Neil Lennon not only dropped the Greek international striker, who had started all three previous matches since the interim manager replaced Tony Mowbray, but did not even name him among the substitutes. German right-back Andreas Hinkel suffered the same fate and watched Celtic's gritty if unspectacular 2-1 victory over Motherwell from the stand.

Lennon insisted afterwards that no-one had been specifically targeted for their part in the weekend debacle, saying: "They are still part of the squad. I had to pick a team to win the game. It could have been anybody. Don't forget you have three under-21s to pick as well so sometimes you have international players in the stand."

The Ulsterman also made it clear, however, that he felt no need to offer any form of explanation to the players he had left out and Samaras may find it difficult to force his way back into the side. All in all, it was an unfortunate evening for the 25-year-old.

The curse of matchday programme printing deadlines saw Samaras adorn the front cover for Motherwell's visit and occupy the main inside pages with a lengthy feature article and poster. In an interview clearly conducted before Saturday's early afternoon humiliation against Ross County, Samaras informed the Celtic supporters of his distaste for the lunchtime kick-offs which are prevalent in Scottish football. It is something they had probably discerned already from his feckless weekend display at Hampden.

"I prefer to play night time games," said Samaras. "It's better than waking up at eight o'clock in the morning and you have to get out for a 12 o'clock kick-off. I've been here three years so it's not as bad now, but at the start I thought to myself 'that's not possible'. You can do it maybe three or four times a year, like I did when I was at Manchester City, but not every weekend.

"In Holland, the games are always at night time, just like in Greece with the national team. Your build-up for a game is better, and more relaxing, for a night time game rather than a 12.30pm kick-off. I think most of the players agree with me."

With Celtic's next two matches against Hibs and Dundee United both having 12.15 kick-offs, it would perhaps be wise not to bet on a quick recall to the starting line-up for Samaras.

Yet it sums up the enigmatic nature of the former Heerenveen player that after his first match in charge of Celtic three weeks ago, the 3-1 defeat of Kilmarnock, Lennon was moved to heap praise on Samaras, stating that he "was the best I've seen him".

But talent and ability has seldom been an issue in appraising Samaras. Application and consistency are a different matter. He has been an endlessly frustrating figure in the eyes of the Celtic support since Gordon Strachan recruited him, initially on loan at the end of the 2007-08 title-winning season and then on a permanent three-year contract.

There were spells during this season, notably around November and December, when he appeared capable of being a hugely influential figure in Mowbray's bid to shape Celtic in a manner both attractive and successful. Samaras scored six goals in five matches during one especially purple patch before fading badly.

His overall strike rate of 37 goals in 98 games for Celtic is more than decent, but his recent return of just one goal in his last 14 appearances certainly vindicates his omission by Lennon.

Irrespective of whether he plays for Celtic again this season, Samaras is almost certain to be on the biggest stage of them all this summer. His place in the Greece squad for the World Cup finals in South Africa is highly unlikely to be threatened by events at Celtic. Greek coach Otto Rehhagel holds Samaras in high regard, having played him in ten of the 12 qualifiers played to reach the finals.

It was a sumptuous pass from Samaras which created the goal from Dimitrios Salpingidis to defeat Ukraine in Donetsk in November in the play-offs, just another example of the player's fine technical gifts.

With Lennon making clear the need for major surgery on the Celtic first team squad this summer, it remains to be seen whether Samaras will be one of those off-loaded. He is under contract until 2011, but a good World Cup may attract suitors.

Just don't expect clubs from countries where fixtures kick-off at lunchtime to be among them.