Larsson says Celtic will go on

Celtic striker Henrik Larsson today insisted the club would continue to be a success without him.

The Swede scored twice in his final competitive game in a Hoops shirt, the 3-1 Tennent’s Scottish Cup final victory over Dunfermline.

It was a fitting end to seven years at Parkhead in which he had netted 242 goals from 315 games.

Larsson will now play for his country in the Euro 2004 finals before either joining another club or retiring.

Finding a replacement has become one of the toughest tasks in world football but Larsson insisted Celtic would continue to be winners.

He said: “I don’t have a doubt in my mind that they will go on without me. They will find somebody or somebody is already here who is going to be ready to step up.

“It is only one player. We still have the bulk of the team and the gaffer here so we need one more player maybe.”

That player could turn out to be Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo, who has expressed a desire to come to Parkhead, and with Champions League football assured for next season there could be no shortage of candidates.

Larsson added: “I don’t know how many players he (manager Martin O’Neill) wants but I know they will go on because it is a very good side.

“Without a doubt these have been my seven best years and I have stayed with a club that has been growing ever since I arrived here and has great potential to be even bigger.”

Larsson had cried after his final league game at Parkhead – last week’s win over Dundee United in which he had also scored twice – but insisted he felt nothing but joy this time around.

He said: “I had played at Hampden Park a few times but a lot more games at Celtic Park so that’s why it was a special day for me.

“Today was no different to any other game. There was a lot of joy. I’m very happy because that was the way the fans wanted it, winning the last game of the season and doing the double.

“It gives them a nice summer holiday and broad smiles on their lips.”

Larsson’s next destination remains unknown however. He said: “At the moment I am not really thinking about it.

“I have the European Championships to look forward to. What will be, will be. If nothing comes up then I will just have to hang up my boots and get on with the rest of my life.

“There is life after football as well. You are lucky if you have 10 years as a professional football player. Then hopefully you will be old and grey so you have to find something else to do.”

Celtic manager O’Neill has often had to praise Larsson for his performances and was happy to do so for one more time.

He said: “What a way to leave the scene in a competitive game today. What a way to leave last week at Celtic Park.

“Of course we are going to miss him, just being around the dressing room and the training ground never mind anything else.

“You always miss great players when they leave. He has had seven fantastic seasons here and has scored goals regularly other than the time when he broke his leg.

“The way he has been going he probably could have scored goals with that. He has been terrific.

“We will mourn for a week or two, maybe a month or two or a even a year or two and then we will try to get another hero.”