Crack shot Killen could strike gold; GOLDEN BOOT.

IT is no shock to see ten Old Firm players at the top of the market to be the top scorer in the SPL and a look at the formguide explains why.

You have to go back to Motherwell's Tommy Coyne in 1995 to find the last player outside the big two to top the charts, and it is interesting that ten of the last 14 golden boot winners have been Celtic players.

Rangers' Kris Boyd was top scorer for the third time in four season's last term, but the prize could be going to Parkhead this year.

The effect of new signing MarcAntoine Fortune could have been overstated and, although he performed well in the Wembley Cup, he does not have a great goalscoring record.

He notched more than ten goals in a season in France just once, and that was way back in 2002.

A better bet could be his team-mate Chris Killen, who could flourish under new boss Tony Mowbray.

Having had a nightmare two seasons at Celtic, Killen looks as though he could provide a good foil for Scott McDonald if Georgios Samaras is unable to recover from a poor second half to last season.

Killen has had a decent pre-season, scoring against Tottenham, and can certainly make his mark at a juicy price if he is given the opportunity and recaptures the impressive form he displayed at Hibs a couple of years ago.

While the market has tended to be won by an Old Firm player in the recent past, last season was only the second in the last eight in which a player from a team other than Rangers or Celtic has not made the each-way places.

With Dundee United's Francisco Sandaza likely to be unavailable for the first couple of months with a hernia injury, it is worth taking a chance on Derek Riordan at Hibs.

The former Celtic striker will be handed more responsibility after Steven Fletcher's departure to Burnley and he flourished back at his spiritual home last season, bagging 12 goals.

And despite the fact that he has had a run in with the club over what has been described as an "incident", there should be plenty of chances coming his way and he can boost his tally by taking his team's penalties.

Recommendation C Killen 1pt each-way 16-1 general D Riordan 1pt each-way 33-1 Ladbrokes

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Celtic's Chris Killen could flourish this season