Tony Mowbray could at least take one positive aspect from Thursday night’s 0-0 draw with Hamburg in the Europa League. Celtic’s chances of promotion out of group C to the knockout rounds are getting slimmer by the day but, in Georgios Samaras, Mowbray at least had a striker that was starting to resemble the international player that he is.

Samaras had a busy night in Germany, both putting himself about and laying off a number of good passes, one of them being perfectly weighted for Scott McDonald, who duly failed to beat Frank Rost from 14 yards.

Yesterday, the Greece striker admitted that he had enjoyed the experience in Hamburg and had started to feel as at home at Celtic as he had done in his two years so far at the club.

“First of all, I feel within myself and my body to be a part of the team,” Samaras said. “I think I played a good game but I have more to give to my club and my team-mates and my manager. I am never happy with my performance so every time I go back home I try to see the game again, to see the good points and bad points and try to fix my mistakes.

“For the start of the pre-season I was feeling well. I put the injury from last season out of my head and I worked really hard in the summer just to put strength in my legs. I have been feeling well and now I am getting the chance to prove to everyone that I am good enough to play for Celtic, and, of course, at the moment I am feeling well.”

Many had believed that Samaras was destined just to be a bit-part player at Celtic, but he happily dismissed the notion yesterday.

“I have been happy at the club,” he said. “I have never felt that I was out of the game or out of the team, that people doubted me as a Celtic player. I have never felt that from my team-mates, my manager, the club or the supporters. I am really happy in Glasgow, really happy with the team and happy that I have signed for this club. This is my third season and I am really excited about that.

“I just focus on my football and nothing else. When training or games are finished I go home and I don’t listen to anyone, just my girlfriend and team-mates. I have always done that.”

Samaras seems certain to start again for Celtic tomorrow afternoon against Falkirk, and warned that, coming off the high of a European night is often the moment when the team can be at their most vulnerable.

“Those are the most difficult games because you play European games against a top team in the Bundesliga and then play against the bottom team in the SPL,” Samaras said. “So we must prepare our minds to be ready for that game because it will not be easy.

“We had a good game against them in the Co-operative Insurance Cup, when we won 4-0, but this will be totally different and, as I say, we must prepare ourselves mentally and physically because it will not be easy.”

Meanwhile, Landry N’Guemo added to Celtic’s regrets about not being able to take better advantage of the series of chances Mowbray’s men created against Hamburg two nights ago.

“We had a lot of opportunities and we didn’t score so we are really disappointed,” the Cameroon midfield player said. “We needed three points but we got just one so we will see what happens in the other games.

“It is frustrating but all the team has to work hard on the training ground in order to score those opportunities. Our aim is to win the championship and when you are a big team, you have a lot of games and a lot of competition.”