THE term talisman is misused in football.

It is employed to describe the right-back whose most consistent quality is that he simply turns up. A talisman, though, must have magical powers. These are in scarce supply in Scottish football and Georgios Samaras, in the wake of winning a third title with Celtic, did not lay claim to having one. "I cannot see the future. I do not have this special power . . . yet," said the Greek internationalist when asked to assess the potential of Neil Lennon's championship-winning side.

Yet Samaras stands on the perfect spot to view the growth of a team and the vagaries of an individual life. Signed from Manchester City in 2008, the forward has been pilloried and cheered for Celtic, sometimes the loud expressions of these differing views are separated by a matter of seconds.

Samaras, an enigma drenched in a shampoo ad, has not only been booed off the pitch, but booed on to it. Yet on Sunday he took part in another title celebration after scoring a spectacular goal in the 4-1 defeat of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. His departure from Celtic Park has been regularly heralded yet Samaras has remained to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and to triumph too.

"I never had any thought of that," he said of the opportunities to leave the club that have dotted his career at Celtic that started with a loan move from City in January 2008. "You have your ups and downs in life but that is no different from other people. We all have good periods in our lives, bad periods in our lives. Everybody has problems but the thing is to think positively and keep working and playing football because you love it. In the end it is about the love of the game, and winning games, and Celtic give that to me."

The Samaras philosophy is simple. "I play football because I love it. I want to have great memories when I have retired. These memories are about winning games and trophies, not the money. I love this club. I feel inside me that I have more to give."

His manager declared at the end of last season's title triumph that his best decision was to persevere with Samaras, who has become an important player in Europe for Celtic. The forward paid tribute to Lennon when addressing the responses he can generate from fans. "I know the supporters play a big part in football and when you play well they scream your name and when you play badly they go against you. That is normal at this club and all around the world," he said. But he added: "In all these years at the club I have had few managers and I do not know how many team-mates. I think the most important thing is to find the trust with your team-mates and find the trust with the manager and then you can go and enjoy football.

"In the last three years I have had a great relationship with the gaffer and in the dressing room we are really bonded to each other because there have not been too many players coming in or going out. That was the case in past years. If you play well as a team, and individually you feel great, then the supporters will shout for you. But everything is up to you, you decide how the supporters are going to feel. That's it."

Samaras is now an elder statesmen in the team but he plays down his role at the club. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink described his one-time fellow striker as Mr Celtic. But Samaras believes that title belongs to Scott Brown, the club captain.

"I am one of the guys who is quiet in the dressing room. I do not speak a lot but on a match day I try to take all my energy on to the park to win the game," he said. "I think this club already has a great leader in Broony. We all look up to him. In Scotland, the captain has to be Scottish. Broony is perfect for this role. I cannot see anyone replacing him in this position."

The expectation is that Celtic will now dominate domestically for some time as Rangers make their way through the Scottish leagues. "There is a lot of talent in this team," said Samaras. "There are some young boys with a lot of potential for the future. I do not know what is going to happen but hopefully we can have the same team next year. I believe we have a lot more to do."

Can Samaras imagine staying in Glasgow for the rest of his career? "I am 28 and I do not know how long I will play football, maybe seven or eight years, maybe 10 years, maybe 12. I feel nice at this club so we will see what happens."

The prospect of Samaras playing at 40 with the odd fleck of grey in these flowing locks is an intriguing one. "I cannot see the future. I do not have this special power . . . yet. It is nice to live in the now and wait to see what happens in the future," he said.

Thus runs the zen of Sammy, the Greek with the special power of dividing opinion in a split second.