Daily Record

SECOND’S OUT FOR CALMAC

McGregor desperate to seal top place in group and earn an easier knockout tie

- GAVIN BERRY sport@dailyrecor­d.co.uk

CALLUM McGREGOR will use last season’s pain in Spain and their suffering in St Petersburg 12 months earlier to drive Celtic on to top spot in their Europa League group.

The Hoops have already secured their place in the last 32 but the Scotland star says it’s vital they win Group E so they are seeded in next month’s knockout-stage draw.

Celtic fell at the same hurdle in the previous two seasons but McGregor believes the fact they weren’t seeded was a big factor in that.

The midfielder scored the only goal of a superb first leg victory against Zenit St Petersburg at Parkhead in 2018 but they crumbled in the return, losing 3-0 in Russia.

And last season Brendan Rodgers’ men were outclassed as they went down 2-0 to Valencia in Glasgow, which left them with a mountain to climb in the Mestalla – where they lost 1-0.

That’s why McGregor is desperate to seal top spot to avoid the likes of Sevilla, Arsenal and Espanyol as well as the top-ranked Champions League dropouts, and also play the second leg at home which is often seen as an advantage.

And they can take a giant step with a win against already-eliminated Rennes tomorrow if Cluj fail to take three points against Lazio in Rome.

If they fail to achieve their aim this week then it will come down to a shootout in the final match with the Dan Petrescu’s Romanians. McGregor said:

“We have learned harsh lessons in the last couple of years when we have managed to get through but you finish second and then get a topranked Champions League team, which obviously makes it difficult in the last 32.

“If you finish top then it’s that playing equal opponents thing. It is big for us. We know we have to finish the job.

“We have two games to finish top. That’s where we want to be. Obviously we are through but we want to qualify top of the group as well.

“We have a big game on Thursday and we will take it from there and see what happens.”

McGregor believes Celtic are now better equipped to succeed in Europe under Neil Lennon, who he reckons is building a Hoops side in the mould of the one he played in under Martin O’Neill.

O’Neill’s side took some major European scalps.

They went all the way to the UEFA Cup Final in 2003 before an extra-time loss to Jose Mourinho’s Porto in Seville.

And asked if Lennon is bolder in Europe than predecesso­r Rodgers, CalMac said: “He could be. You see with

results. We went to Lazio and people hoped rather than had any expectatio­n but when you deliver a result like that it changes everyone’s mindset.

“The manager builds similar teams when he is at the helm and now you can say there are certain similariti­es there [to the teams he played in].

“There is pace on the counter-attack, good mindset in the middle where you are not giving away too many balls.

“And then when you are going forward we have front players who can really hurt teams – Jamesie, Ryan, Tom, Oli, the list goes on. The manager is brilliant. You hear him talking all the time. Obviously we know the European games are different games, you have slightly less of the ball.

“But you hear him talking about how we must still always have a threat, we have to try and score.

“When you score, especially away from home now, it puts you in a really good position to win the game.

“You can defend without the ball but you still have to have an avenue to score. Once you score a goal it changes the whole dynamic of the game.

“That’s what we have to do now in Europe.

“We have been great domestical­ly and that is still our bread and butter, we still have to look after that, but in Europe we probably have enough experience where we can really go and try do something. “We have two games to finish top, that is where we really want to be.

“Then hopefully we get a good draw and we take it from there.”

 ??  ?? SECOND BEST Celts lost to Valencia, above, and Zenit despite McGregor goal
SECOND BEST Celts lost to Valencia, above, and Zenit despite McGregor goal
 ??  ?? EURO STARS McGregor hails win in Rome and he says boss Lenny, below, has made them tougher to beat
EURO STARS McGregor hails win in Rome and he says boss Lenny, below, has made them tougher to beat

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