Anthony Stokes says he and Gary Hooper can become deadly duo for Celtic
Celtic forward Anthony Stokes says that he and strike partner Gary Hooper can become as lethal a team as Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton were for the Scottish Premier League club 10 years ago.
The duo both netted hat-tricks in the 9-0 drubbing of Aberdeen on Saturday, 6 November, at Celtic Park. Each of them have now netted nine goals this season while their show-stopping performance against the Dons was witnessed in person by Larsson and Sutton.
While the new Bhoys have some way to go before they can emulate the achievements of club legends Larsson and Sutton, 22-year-old Stokes believes that, with time, he and Hooper can be as strong a team as the Swede and Englishman ever were.
'Hopefully a sign of things to come'
He told reporters that: "We can do the same as Larsson and Sutton did for Celtic. We work very well together and if he's in a better position than me then I'll give him the ball. The best aspect of the two of us is scoring goals and we just want to score
as many as we can. Going forward, we really look like we're gelling and hopefully it's a sign of things to come."
Celtic manager Neil Lennon appears to have settled on Stokes and Hooper — both of whom arrived in the summer — as his first-choice pairing after Hooper made his return from injury.
However, the strikers have Greek forward Georgios Samaras and fellow new man Daryl Murphy ready to pounce on their places in the starting line-up, and Stokes is well aware that he and Hooper cannot slacken off.
He added that: "The rivalry between us all is going to help."
Stokes moved to Celtic from fellow SPL side Hibernian over the summer in a deal believed to be worth over one million pounds. Hooper, meanwhile, joined the Hoops from Scunthorpe United.
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