PERHAPS Georgios Samaras should regard his bruises as a compliment.

The Greek international has passed into the very iconography of Celtic - visitors to Parkhead are met by the image of this unlikely poster boy's face and shaggy mane the minute they arrive in the East End - and the totemic quality he has acquired for the club's supporters has rarely been viewed more clearly than it was last Wednesday night against Elfsborg.

The abiding image of the evening saw him running a gauntlet of brutal Swedish challenges, being brought crashing to earth, only to pick himself up like a latter-day George Best and subject himself to it all over again. Indeed, so vigorous were the attentions of the Elfsborg defenders that the club required a scan to convince themselves that the player hadn't sustained a broken toe in the process. With the Greek having the happy knack of scoring in six of the club's last seven European away matches, the Swedes were at least honest enough in the aftermath to admit a variation on the same brutal theme is likely to take place in the second leg at the Boras Arena.

James Keene, Elfborg's English midfielder, was one of many who tried everything he knew within and outwith the rules to stop Samaras's forays down the left. "I had a bit of a laugh with him on the pitch and we shook hands at half-time," said Keene, formerly of Portsmouth. "He's a big strong lad with a lot of experience, a top player.

"We tried to keep him him quiet at Parkhead and I guess I didn't do too badly. We know about his record of scoring away goals in Europe, but hopefully we won't give him too many chances. When he gets the ball down and starts running with those big legs, it's hard to take him down. He took a few tackles on Wednesday night, but he got right back up and did well. I'm sure there will be a few more tackles waiting for him in Sweden."

Neil Lennon doesn't expect the Swedes to explicitly target his European talisman in the Boras Arena on Wednesday night. But he does expect the referee to do his job if such a scenario does come to pass. "They will want to stop him again, next week," said Lennon. "But I've got plenty of players who can look after themselves and Sami is one of them. I wouldn't expect Elfsborg to systematically target one player, but if that's the case then I'm sure the players will make their concerns known to the referee. If it becomes as crude as it did on Wednesday I'd expect the referee to deal with it and stamp it out as quickly as possible."

Considering he once regarded him as the "kind of player who could get him the sack", Lennon has discovered that his Athenian lucky charm is capable of infinite surprises. There is genuine admiration from the Northern Irishman for a player who has surreptitiously made himself utterly integral to his side.

"He's started off with two goals in three games now and has been great for us," said the Celtic manager. "He is brave, he has real character now. I think a few years ago there were times where you felt he could've been braver. But he's certainly shown all those aspects to his game now and he's become a very important player for us. He's more of an influence on the team and he's not fading out of games as much as he used to. What we have found, particularly in European games, is that the longer the game goes on the stronger he gets as players fade a bit on the opposition.

"There were times when he could have gone, when things weren't great for him here," the Northern Irishman added. "It would have been easy to go because he had offers from two or three different countries, with a nicer lifestyle, nicer brand of football, a bit of luxury and probably more money as well. But he chose to stay here and work it out and I really admire that about him."

The Greek could yet become even more central. With Anthony Stokes yet to fully convince as a replacement for Gary Hooper, and Amido Balde not yet trusted to start, the arrival of Derk Boerritger out wide could see the 28-year-old Greek move into a more central role. Boerritger remembers the Greek from his time at Heerenveen playing alongside Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and can't wait to play with him. "I saw his hero status with the fans," said Boerritger. "Also his picture is up in the Celtic store. I think I can combine well with him. If he plays striker then I can supply the crosses and he can head them in."

Boerritger, a £3m purchase from Ajax, already looks a signing to quicken the pulse. The 26-year-old recalled this week how his time of 3.74 seconds for the 30-metre sprint made him the fastest at the Amsterdam club. "I am the white Usain Bolt!" the Dutchman joked. Even the quicksilver Jamaican, you suspect, might struggle in the 100m if he had to contend with a job lot of Swedish defenders grabbing hold of him.