ARTUR OUT TO PROVE HE IS STILL NUMBER ONE

Artur Boruc has promised his new gaffer that he will prove last season was a one off and he will be the man between the sticks next season.

The Holy Goalie committed a number of high-profile howlers as the Hoops lost their grip on the SPL title last season.

Boruc returned for training at Lennoxtown this week and after a face-to-face with manager Mowbray he was left in no doubt another campaign like last year simply won't be tolerated.

Boruc insists he's ready to respond to the challenge.

He said: "I don't accept all this talk that I'm in bad form.

"Last season I made five serious mistakes in games for Poland and Celtic, which is roughly the same as I did the year before. But no one said it was my fault then because those errors went unpunished.

"A lot comes down to luck and sometimes your luck runs out.

"It shows how quickly things can change in the life of a footballer.

"My form in the match in Belfast when Poland lost 3-2 to Northern Ireland and the earlier game in Bratislava, when we lost 2-1 to Slovakia, was related to my personal situation. In Belfast, I wasn't scared of the Northern Ireland fans' taunting.

"I like pressure, I like when the fans are screaming at me."

But Boruc insists those errors were down to the trauma in his personal life.

Speaking in a Polish newspaper he said: "The influence on my performances in the Slovakia and Northern Ireland games were not fans, but my personal situation.

"It is not possible to just forget about it and just switch yourself off.

"Never mind if you are a worker in a factory or you are a goalkeeper playing in front of thousands of people every week. If you have personal problems it will affect you at work, no matter what you do."

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