Sheridan on the ball

Joe McBride, the former Celtic player and coach, believes that Cavan"s rising soccer star Cillian Sheridan is the Bhoys" secret weapon as two of their main strikers, top scorer Georgios Samaras doubtful and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, struggle with injury. Bailieborough native Sheridan was introduced for the final half hour against Inverness Caledonian Thistle last Saturday for his second first team appearance of the season. The Republic of Ireland Under 21 striker has made impressive progress at Parkhead following a few months of injury problems and, at the time of going to print, it lookc likely that he will play some part in Celtic"s Champions"s League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford. 'If you are going to get thrown in anywhere, it may as well be at Old Trafford,' stated former Hoops favourite McBride. 'What a baptism of fire that would be against two top class defenders like Ferdinand and Vidic.' Former Cavan underage GAA starlet Sheridan has all of the qualities needed to make it as a first team regular, according to McBride. 'Cillian has a lot of qualities, he"s a tall lad and he is very good in the air. He has great positional sense, can see where crosses are going to arrive and has a venomous shot in his left foot. Add to that his pace and you can see why he used to terrorise teams at under-18 level and why he"s been added to Gordon"s squad.' Sheridan, who doesn"t turn 20 until February, signed a three-year contract with Celtic last year.