NO ERIK... NOKOLO... NO JOZO... ANDNO EXCUSES
Rodgers: Missing Bhoys would be no defence for a Kazakh calamity
BRENDAN Rodgers has warned his Celtic players he will accept no excuses if they fail to perform against Astana in their Champions League qualifier in Kazakhstan today – despite t he makeshift defence he will be forced to field. Rodgers also stressed he has confidence in Eoghan O’Connell, the 20-year-old Irish centre half who has never been involved in a European fixture before, being able to handle the first leg of the third qualifying round. The Scottish champions suffered a setback ahead of this difficult away tie in Asia
CRAIG GORDON last night dismissed concerns about the Celtic defence ahead of their Champions League qualifier against Astana and stressed he has complete faith in the players Brendan Rodgers will pick to play in front of him.
The Scottish champions were dealt a serious blow in the buildup to the first leg of the third qualifying round in Kazakhstan when Erik Sviatchenko, their first-choice centre-half, was ruled out with a groin strain.
Rodgers will have to field an untested rearguard against opponents who have not lost at home in Europe in the last two seasons and must decide whether to select Efe Ambrose, Eoghan O’Connell or Mikael Lustig at the heart of it.
Ambrose has made a catalogue of errors in big matches in the past and has been linked with a move away from Celtic in recent weeks, O’Connell has no experience at this level and Lustig is normally deployed at right-back.
With so much riding on success in this double-header and qualification to the group stages of Europe’s premier club competition – it is worth over £21million to the Glasgow club – it is a far from ideal situation for Celtic to be in.
Gordon, though, revealed that the former Swansea City and Liverpool manager has already decided on the line-up that he will field and the tactics he will employ and insisted he has confidence in the personnel who will be called upon.
“We have still got enough,” he said. “It is not a problem. We have already worked on it on the training ground.
“We know exactly what’s happening and who’s going to play where. We’re pretty sorted. We’ve still got good players.
“The players who are going to play have still got good experience. There is not any worry about that.
“We have got a game plan. We have already looked at things that they like to do and areas they are strong in in a meeting with Stevie Woods [the Celtic goalkeeping coach] in the plane over here.
“We had another meeting again this afternoon to look at the positives and negatives of their team. We are pretty ready. We are looking forward to it. We have got a game plan in place and we are looking forward to putting it into practice.”
Lustig played at centre-back in the pre-season friendly against Leicester City on Saturday and performed well and Gordon has backed the Swedish internationalist to do well if, as looks highly likely, he has to do so again here this evening. He said: “Mikael can play both roles, centre-back or right-back, and is equally as good in both positions.
“I’m sure he’ll be playing as he’s been excellent in the games since coming back from the Euros. Wherever he plays, he’ll slot in not too bad.”
GORDON admitted Astana, who held Atletico Madrid, Benfica and Galatasaray to draws at home after qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in their history last season, would be difficult to overcome.
However, he has been greatly impressed with Rodgers since he was appointed in the summer and is confident the way he wants his team to approach the meeting with Stanimir Stoilov’s side will work.
“They have got some good players,” said Gordon. “They have had a decent amount of success in the last year or so. We know that they have got quality. We have seen it on video.
“There are things to watch out for and players to watch out for. We will try and nullify them as best we can.
“From looking at their games, they have a threat from set pieces and they are pretty good on the counter attack as well. It is a combination of things.
“But we will look to play our game and impose ourselves on the match and do the things than we want to do. We will probably do that more than thinking about the opposition. We have to get our bit right.
“This team were in the Champions League last year. They are putting a good team out on the park and they have got good players who are capable of winning this match.
“But we are confident in ourselves that we can go out and impose our game plan and hurt them in areas that we have already looked at. If we can do that, we can give ourselves a very good chance to go through.
“We have worked on a number of different formations pre-season and in training. We are well on our way to understanding them.
“There is still work to be done in certain aspects of them, but we do realise we are going to have to play in different styles, be it home matches, away matches, European matches. There will be times when we have to adapt our game plan to suit.
“It was disappointing that Hearts and Hibs didn’t make it through in the Europa League. I would have liked for them both to go as far as they could.
“Same with Aberdeen, with their next tie and try to get into the group stages of the Europa League, which would be great for Scottish football.
Hopefully, we can get through this tie and go a step closer.”
Celtic have, at the recommendation of their new head of performance Glen Driscoll, stayed on British time since arriving in Kazakhstan and Gordon believes they will be in peak shape for the match as a result.
“It was strange sitting up until five in the morning,” he said. “We were eating at two o’clock in the morning, having our dinner. But it didn’t feel too bad because we trained in the morning, travelled and felt like that was the normal time to go to bed.
“It was starting to get light just as we went to bed. But we still got a good sleep and everyone has managed it no problem.”