Fit again Hartson happy with double

John Hartson hopes he has finally put his injury worries behind him after grabbing a double against Inverness.

The 3-1 Bank of Scotland Premier League win over the Highlanders allowed the striker to bring his tally for the season to five goals so far after also netting for Wales midweek.

He said: “I have to congratulate the players around me as well.

“I’m injury-free now, which I’m pleased about because I‘ve had a few injuries, so it’s about time I started getting a few games together.”

Hartson hopes the winning streak will continue when they take on Rangers in the first Old Firm game of the season next weekend.

He told Setanta Sport: “Ourselves and Rangers are both in good form and they had a good result yesterday too.

“It’s the first one of the season and there’s not a lot between the two teams - I think they will be stronger this season.

“I don’t think those games are just any old games, both sets of supporters will tell you they mean an awful lot to the punters and the players as well.”

Today’s game at Pittodrie was filled with plenty of incident, including an early red card for Inverness winger Juanjo.

The Spaniard was sent off for violent conduct against Neil Lennon.

The Hoops midfielder remained on the park despite appearing to strike Juanjo first but Hartson claimed he did not see the incident.

He said: “I’ve been caught up once or twice myself with the fourth official and that’s what happened when the lad committed the offence on Neil and paid the price.

“Neil is used to that treatment anyway. He gets it at every ground and he is big enough and ugly enough to take all that.

“I didn’t see what happened so I’m not just sitting on the fence.”