ARE Celtic fans about to witness the long-awaited renaissance of the Dutch master?

Or has Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's return to the goal-scoring picture at the weekend simply gained him a brief reprieve from being hung in the club's rogues' gallery?

Wednesday night against Falkirk could reveal all. However, the omens are good that the big striker is finally about to brush up his act. ONE BY ONE By Darrell King

BORUC Unruffled The spotlight was taken firmly off the erratic Pole by his opposite number across the city this week, but he was never put in a position were there was danger of adding to list of blunders. One good save late on, but could have sat in the stand.

HINKEL Adventurous Bombed up and down all day and laid on goal for Hesselink that ended Dutchman's misery.

CALDWELL Steady Accies hitman Joel Thomas tried his best to cause problems for the Hoops backline, but Caldwell was never flustered and dealt with any rare hints of trouble.

McMANUS Brave Skippers' roles are under the spotlight right now, and big Mick is the perfect example of what you want. Could have sat this one out with an eye cut but patched himself up and did well.

O'DEA Uncomfortable Shuttled back to left-sided role but it's clear that's not his favoured area. Turned a few times when sub Asamoah came on and would struggle against a natural winger as he lacks pace.

BROWN Subdued Head didn't seem to be as focused as it should have been after days of rumours. Only a lung-bursting run at the end reminded you he was playing.

CROSAS Tidy Classy player. Rarely gives the ball away and is always looking for a pass. But does tend to drift in and out of games.

NAKAMURA Class Now counting down his Parkhead days, if he does stick with the plan to say sayonara at the end of the season. Pass to McGeady for second goal sums up his quality.

McGEADY Entertainer Has never consistently hit the heights of last season. But he is still the genuine entertainer in the top flight. Great goal and some brilliant turns and runs.

McDONALD Shattered Admirable for the Aussie to try and go from the start when he didn't get back from international duty until hours before the game, but struggled to get into the pace of the game.

SAMARAS Clinical Ended goals nightmare with a well taken double, the standard of the finishes proving he still has something in the locker. Overall touches a bit sloppy, but hard not to be pleased for him after all the stick.

HESSELINK Sheer relief Found the net for the first time since September - and boy did it mean the world to him.

McCOURT OK Came on and almost scored with a low shot.

MIZUNO Busy Looks to have plenty of pace, but will have to go some to fill Naka's boots.

STRACHAN Delighted First game in two weeks after international breaks and plenty of positives on top of getting the three points.

It was at this stage last season that he proved his true worth to the club, scoring one of the most important goals in his Hoops career when knocking home the late winner against Rangers which kept the championship alive.

No Celtic fan will need reminding Vennegoor then went on to put the gloss on the season when he bulleted home a classic at Tannadice to ensure the club had another celebratory team picture to hang in their trophy room.

Vennegoor has portrayed a pale imitation of that form this time around, the fine detail of his touch having deserted him along with at least a yard of pace and the same again in anticipation.

The result has been an insipid strike rate with just a double against Aberdeen back in September to show for all of his efforts before he finally ended his drought with the closing goal in the 4-0 victory over Hamilton on Saturday.

As he bundled the ball into the empty net from two yards - the hard work having been done by the impressive Andreas Hinkel who had also set up Georgios Samaras for the opening goal - Vennegoor's face was not so much a picture of happiness as a study in relief.

The contrast in body language between Sami and Jan was stark. Both have been struggling to find any kind of form - or the net. And that's where the similarity ends.

The Greek striker's barren spell had lasted comparatively shorter, since January 3. But, even given his return of 10 goals in 11 games at the start of the campaign, that run was long enough to cast serious doubts about Sami's long-term suitability as a partner for Scott McDonald.

Not that Samaras' body language would ever betray the fact he was a striker who was not striking. His confidence borders on arrogance. Not a problem, provided you can back it up. A major issue if you can talk the talk, but not walk the walk.

Ironically, this supreme self-assurance was what allowed Sami to stroll through the Accies defence, flicking the ball through Alex Neil's legs, sidestepping the desperate lunge from Mark McLaughlin before delicately lifting the ball over the advancing keeper.

All done with the air of a man who was enjoying a purple patch in front of goal, not someone who last found the net for his club when the New Year bells were just fading away.

His equally cool finish for his second after the interval - a composed take down of a long ball from Marc Crosas and a precise shot through the legs of his marker and across the keeper - merely served to underline Samaras never had any doubts he would be back among the goals, even if others had already consigned him to the flash-in-the-pan seat on the back row of the Celtic bench.

If some of this belief could rub off on Vennegoor, everyone at the club would be delighted, not least Gordon Strachan who has used all his amateur psychologist skills to try and cajole the goals out of the big man with the frequency they once flowed.

The manager is no stranger to private chats with Vennegoor. And, even though Strachan relegated him to the bench against Accies, he felt the time was right to back up his mind games with a public vote of confidence.

He said: "I told Jan that Saturday was a game for Sami. Tannadice, before the break for internationals, had been Jan's place and he did well there without scoring.

"So, I think everybody in the stadium was pleased that the two big strikers got on the scoresheet at the weekend.

"I told Jan recently he could have no regrets and that he did not need to reproach himself for anything.

"He's been going through a bad spell in terms of scoring goals, but I told him he was training incredibly hard and that he was a total professional.

"I said to him that things like this happen and you just have to keep at it. You just do the right things and it comes right for you."

Despite this backing, the doubt demons appear to have infiltrated the Dutchman's hulking frame, leaving him a shell of the man who grabbed 20 goals last season and 18 in his debut year.

Hanging on his ability to put his poor form behind him and finish with a flourish could be a huge bonus to player and club, given that the title is still likely to be decided by which team scores most goals on the run in and that the 12-month contract extension his paymasters have at their discretion is due to be decided very soon.

If Celtic supporters were today canvassed over which of their big names currently counting down their contracts they would like to see retained, it's odds-on that Shunsuke Nakamura would be a clear winner.

His sublime vision and delivery to send Aiden McGeady clear for Celtic's second goal against Accies is something which will be badly missed when, if as expected, he says sayonara eight games from now.

It was fitting that the Japanese star was last night honoured with a tribute dinner to celebrate his artistry.

If Vennegoor is ever to be held in anything like that esteem, he must prove he has indeed emerged from the barren landscape of his season to date and paint a much brighter picture for the remainder of the campaign. NEED TO KNOW

Was it a good game? It was an enjoyable 90 minutes for the fans who turned up, with an entertaining performance capped off by four good goals. The result was not in doubt from the fourth minute when Samaras put Celtic ahead, and further goals from birthday Bhoy McGeady, Sami again then Hesselink exposed Accies' naivety. They did come out of their defensive shell a little after the break to force one decent save from Boruc and hit the bar with another effort from a corner, but they were always bit part players in this show.

Who was Celtic's best player? Sami's double showed a lot of class, and belied the fact he had gone three months without scoring for Celtic. McGeady was also in good form on the day he turned 23. Hinkel made the most of the fact the visitors played with just one up and set up two of the goals from his forward forages. Crosas and Naka were also pulling the strings in the middle of the park, while Boruc will feel better after a decent claw away of a Thomas header. But the big Greek striker got the champagne.

And Accies' star man? Joel Thomas played up front on his own, but proved a handful for Caldwell and McManus throughout.

What about the ref? Brian Winter often displayed a curious interpretation of the rules, but angered the home team marginally less than his main stand assistant.

Who is up next? Celtic are home again on Wednesday, this time to Falkirk.