Astana: Hoops ‘certs to beat us’

ASTANA star Nemanja Maksimovic has piled the pressure on Celtic – by insisting the Scots are huge favourites to qualify in their Champions League showdown.

The Hoops face a marathon journey to Kazakhstan to face a tricky tie against the former Soviet state’s champions.

Celtic were nearly embarrassed in the previous round after a shock defeat in Gibraltar to part-time minnows Lincoln Red Imps.

But Serbian midfielder Maksimovic – who has been linked with a move to clubs in Germany and Spain – is convinced the Scots are huge favourites to go through.

He said: “Celtic are a major threat, no matter how badly they played in the last round. They are strong favourites of course, but we will not surrender easily.

“We had problems too in qualifying, but the important thing was we made it.

“The pressure is off us now because we have got to this stage and I actually think the games against Celtic will be easier for us because of that.

“If we don’t beat Celtic, we will fight for a place in the Europa League instead.

“It was a huge struggle for us against Zilgiris Vilnius. They scored a goal against us and we were heading out.

“We put a lot of pressure on them, but their keeper was brilliant.

“But we finally got the winning goal and it proved that we keep going until the end.”