Scottish cold snap stuns Samaras

13 January 2010 12:03
Being from Greece, it is no surprise to discover Samaras is not a fan of the cold.[LNB]But even he was taken aback by the Arctic conditions which have wreaked havoc on the country recently and forced the postponement of more than one of his club's games.[LNB]One training session at Lennoxtown last week will forever be etched on the memory of the 24-year-old.[LNB]"That training session will be mentioned in my autobiography when I get round to writing it," he said.[LNB]"That is without doubt the worst training conditions I have ever experienced. It will never be that bad again."[LNB]He added: "I lived in places where the snow has been worse, but it's the ice and the cold wind in Scotland that makes it worse.[LNB]"When I was in Heerenveen in Holland, I remember waking up one morning with snow about one metre deep outside my house.[LNB]"I could hardly see my car; I couldn't even open my front door.[LNB]"I lived in the same street as a lot of my team-mates. Nobody could get their cars out, so we went from home to home to try to find a way to get to training.[LNB]"We eventually came up with a solution: we just walked to training.[LNB]"It took us about 30 minutes to walk and we trained indoors. That was crazy.[LNB]"The difference between Holland and Scotland is the temperature. In Holland, it snowed a lot but it was a bit warmer."[LNB]Samaras nevertheless insists he is still "happy" in Glasgow after two years with Celtic.[LNB]Manager Tony Mowbray is close to completing seven months at Parkhead - a period which has had its ups and downs with the club out of Europe and seven points behind Rangers in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.[LNB]Samaras told Celtic View: "It takes time to build a team. It's difficult for a manager when he first arrives at a new club.[LNB]"You need to get to know your players, learn strengths and weaknesses and find a spine for your team.[LNB]"The manager is doing that just now and is also trying to change our style of play a little bit.[LNB]"Since I've been at Celtic, we have always played attacking football but there have been small changes under the new manager.[LNB]"However, he needs time to do all of this.[LNB]"He knows what he wants to do for the club, but it doesn't happen overnight.[LNB]"When I first joined Celtic, I remember Gordon Strachan telling me that the first five months were the hardest because he was getting used to it all: the players, the press - everything."[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk