Dolan relying on Hawkins recovery

Colin Hawkins must wait until a couple of hours before the kick-off to learn if he will be cleared to anchor the St Patrick's Athletic defence in this evening's European Champions League preliminary game against Celtic at Parkhead.

Hawkins, around whom manager Pat Dolan was hoping to build his defensive strategy, again missed training yesterday when Dolan was far from optimistic about his prospects of recovering in time from a foot injury.

"At this point I haven't ruled anybody out but in Colin's case I must admit that either way, it's going to be a tight call," he said.

Hawkins, grown to new maturity in his first season at Richmond Park after being released by Coventry City, missed last Saturday's warm-up game against Norwich City in which his place in central defence was filled by Stephen McGuinness.

Given the influence he exerts on those around him and his expertise in set-piece situations, his loss would be interpreted as a huge setback to the Irish champions and, ominously, it's not the only cloud on Dolan's horizon.

Trevor Molloy who, like Hawkins, joined the club after some exciting performances in the World under-20 championship in Malaysia last summer, is recovering from a damaged hamstring and Willie Burke, another casualty in the Norwich game, is also under treatment.

To complete a disturbing picture, Trevor Wood is troubled by a rib problem and was replaced in goal for yesterday's training session by Brian McKenna. "On the face of it a 1-0 win over Norwich was great but I would prefer to have been turned over and got out of the game with no injury problems," said Dolan.

If Molloy fails to prove his fitness, Dolan will probably deploy Ian Gilzean as a one-man strike force and that, conceivably, could improve their hopes of keeping the tie competitive for the return game in Dublin.

Apart from enumerating his team problems, Dolan was as loquacious as ever on the eve of his most demanding assignment since assuming control of the team on Brian Kerr's departure from the club.

"We desperately want to do well in Europe but things need to change at home before we can make progress. Coming over here and seeing the set-up brings home to me how much needs to be done but we're ready to give it our best shot.

"It's important that football keeps a bit of romance and magic and that's what this game is all about."

Despite the perceived difference in class between the teams, it's something of a gala occasion for Celtic as they prepare to open the gates of their revamped stadium for their best attended European attraction since a crowd of 68,000 saw them lose 2-1 to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in 1983.

With an attendance ceiling of 61,000, Parkhead is currently the biggest stadium in Britain and club officials reported yesterday that only a limited number of tickets, at £25, are still available.

Celtic's new coach Josef Venglos faces the prospect of replacing their Danish international, Morton Vieghorst, whose place is expected to go to either Phil O'Donnell or the Dutch player, Reggie Blinker.

Paul Lambert, a member of Scotland's World Cup team, is available after injury, however, and with Jackie McNamara and Alan Stubbs also returning to action after missing Saturday's 21 win over Kilmarnock, Venglos will field a powerful side.