I WANT TO REMAIN
Gordon insists he and Celtic have not given up on Europe
CELTIC have been enjoying domestic bliss but Craig Gordon has slapped down suggestions Europe has been dumped on the backburner this season.
The Hoops have had parties at Parkhead, gone mad at Murrayfield and relished goal rushes in Dundee and Perth with a recent resurgence that also saw Hearts hammered twice in a week.
It’s been a sharp contrast to the agony in Athens, the sore one in Salzburg and a gubbing in Germany as their search for glory in European competition has become more of a pain.
But while back-to-back defeats to the Red Bull brothers have left Celtic’s Europa League hopes hanging by a threat, ahead of RB Leipzig’s visit on Thursday Gordon is not ready to write off the Euro campaign yet.
He said: “I wouldn’t say so. We had a team out in the first leg that was full of legs and willing to cover every blade of grass.
“We wanted to create chances and try to nick a goal. We almost managed it on a couple of occasions but there were a few defensive lapses.
“We didn’t score, which we wanted to do, and we were punished at the other end.
“We are trying to compete in the competitions in Scotland but we want to do well in Europe. We always set out to try to win games regardless of the competition.”
Gordon knows the Hoops can’t afford any more slip-ups if they are to have hopes of kicking around the continent after Christmas.
Celtic might have lost 2-0 in Leipzig but Gordon said: “We believe we’re still in the group and there were things we saw from them, and in our performance, that gives us hope in Glasgow.
“The home games were always going to be vital for us. We’ve got Leipzig and Salzburg to come to Scotland, while we always felt we’d need to pick up something away from home at some point.
“We haven’t managed to do that but there was some encouragement in Germany.
“We created chances. We didn’t manage to take them and that’s what you need to do at this level. That could be the difference at Celtic Park.”
A couple of quick goals from the Germans did for Celts and although Gordon didn’t have too much to do his late save could prove crucial when it comes down to the head to heads between the rivals.
He said: “You never know how important these saves can be. It was about keeping them out as long as possible.
“The funny thing was I didn’t have too many saves over there and they didn’t create that many chances. That was the most disappointing thing. It was tough to lose the game the way we did.
“We had chances ourselves. Odsonne Edouard early on and then you look at the one for Olivier Ntcham late on. At 2-1 it would have given us a great last five minutes but you never know how important these moments will be.”
Losing dodgy goals has cost Celtic too many times in Europe this term and Gordon admitted they can’t afford to be so generous this week.
Leipzig might not have looked like world-beaters in the first tie but there was a sense they had another gear.
Gordon said: “It’s something that’s happening now and again to us. We will need to cut that out this time round.”
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