Southampton v Celtic: Strachan back at St Mary's for pre-season test.

/ Nik Wardle / 17 July 2008 / Leave a Comment

The signs are that Celtic are taking Claus Lundekvam's testimonial seriously as Gordon Strachan returns to the club he took to the FA Cup final.

The theme of tonight's pre-season clash between Southampton and Celtic at St Mary's is return. Claus Lundekvam returns for his testimonial; Gordon Strachan returns to the club he took to the FA Cup final in 2003; Michael Svensson hopes to continue his remarkable recovery, having retired because of injury in 2007 and 'Le God', Matt Le Tissier, has confirmed he'll play some part in the procedings.

Testimonials are rare in the modern game and ones for overseas players even rarer. Many foreign players are seen as mercenaries, so it's good to see a loyal servant amongst them. It's sad to read that Lundekvam is having to shell out £250,000 of his own money to get his testimonial on. Times have changed at Saints since the Norwegian signed for them. When he joined, they'd be in the top league for as long as Tottenham had - last season they needed a final day victory to keep them in the Championship.

This match provides the first opportunity for many to see the new man in charge of team affairs at Saints, Jan Poortvliet. With him and his assistant reputed to be earning the same between them as Nigel Pearson was himself, Poortvliet is seen by many as a cheap option. Saints have certainly been tightening their belts since Rupert Lowe returned at the helm. Inigo Idiakez, Alexander Ostlund, Darren Powell, Mario Licka, Jermaine Wright and Josh Dutton-Black have all been shown the St Mary's exit door and Youssef Safri and Rudi Skacel are in talks with other clubs. Nathan Dyer's refusal to sign a new deal means he's training on his own and is unlikely to play for Saints again. The club's biggest summer signing so far is former Plymouth Argyle midfielder Paul Wotton on a free transfer. If Svensson can return to full fitness and form, he could well turn out to be Saints' most important signing. His partnership with Lundekvam at the back was the bedrock of Saints' good spell under Strachan.

With Poortvliet unlikely to have much in the transfer kitty, it's no wonder Saints are fourth favourites for relegation from the Championship at [4.4]. They do have Premier League experience in the likes of Chris Perry, Jason Euell, Stern John and Grzegorz Rasiak but Poortvliet will need to knit his men together to keep them afloat.

Things are different up at Celtic Park. The Hoops are going for their fourth title in a row and are favourites to do so at [1.91], with Rangers at [2.26]. Celtic's major signing of the summer so far is Georgios Samaras. This is a little surprising as the former loanee said back in April that he didn't want to stay if he was a back-up striker. This is just what he was last season as he failed to dislodge the first-choice strike partnership of Scott McDonald and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Vitally for Celtic, Scotland's Player of the Year, Aiden McGeady, and McDonald, the SPL's Top scorer last season, having agreed new extended contracts.

Rangers have added attacking options to their squad in Kenny Miller and Kyle Lafferty. I can't see either of these players significantly improving on what they already have, so I can see a similar nip-and-tuck SPL title race to last season.

Celtic are reported to be bringing 6000 fans down to the South Coast, proof they'll take this clash seriously - and it is England versus Scotland. Saints are at [4.5] to win, Celtic at [1.83] with [3.5] for the draw. I think betting on Half Time/Full Time Celtic/Celtic at [2.76] is a decent shout. I think Strachan will be smiling at the end of this game and hopefully enough Saints fans will attend to enable Lundekvam to at least get his money back.