Sutton and Hartson can work, says Sutton
Fulham manager Chris Coleman believes Chris Sutton and John Hartson will prove a lethal partnership at Celtic.
The Welshman was impressed by the pair as the Hoops defeated his side at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Only Hartson hit the net in a 2-0 victory but Coleman believes they will both give manager Martin O’Neill devastating options in their pursuit of glory next season.
“Chris Sutton is such an intelligent player,” he said. “He’s a top player - not just a target man.
“He’s a good passer and mixes it up. I know John Hartson well and he’s a good player although he’s more of a target man. Sutton and Hartson can work together and that’s an option for Martin.”
Despite the scoreline the Fulham side felt it was easier coming up against them than the departed Henrik Larsson.
The two sides clashed in last year’s pre-season, a game which alerted Coleman to the Swede’s availability and tentative enquiries were made.
O’Neill is now searching for a top-class replacement for Larsson and Fulham assistant manager Steve Keane, a former Celtic defender, believes he will be working hard behind the scenes.
He said: “Speaking to Ian Pearce and Zat Knight, they felt it was slightly easier against the Celtic attack this time.
“We spoke about Larsson and wondered if he’d have the desire to come to London. His wife likes horses and we looked at stables and gallops for him.
“Kempton is pretty close to here as well so we thought that might appeal! But he chose to get some sunshine on his back.
“It’s a pity. He’s one of these players who can do everything. It will be hard for Celtic to replace him, but Martin will be doing everything in his power to do it.
“Newcastle made an official enquiry and he said they were too similar a club to Celtic with the passion of their supporters and the fact they are a big club.
“It helps when you’ve got great fans like Celtic. They drive you on first and foremost and that gets through to the players.”
Coleman revealed that he dropped his interest in Larsson when he heard that Barcelona wanted to sign him.
He said: “It was common knowledge he wouldn’t be staying at Celtic. But we never made a play because we discovered he was going to Barcelona - though there’s not much difference between us and Barcelona!”
