We have to handle step up in quality, says Gordon

ON Tuesday night, the hunters became the hunted. At least when Celtic welcome Ross County to Parkhead tomorrow they will revert to being the biggest fish in Scottish football’s small pond.

Their 5-0 battering at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain inevitably led to suggestions that the domestic gulf does Brendan Rodgers’ men no favours when they have to mix it with Europe’s elite.

Just as the cost of PSG’s squad (£720million) dwarves that of the Scottish champions (£22m), so a vast financial chasm separates Celtic and the majority of the Scottish Premiership.

So how, for example, do they suddenly compete with the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani when their previous match has been a trip to the Superseal Stadium?

Goalkeeper Craig Gordon insists it’s the kind of transition that the Parkhead club will just have to get better at making.

‘It’s our job to cope with the step up,’ he said. ‘I don’t think it’s a difficult thing to switch between the two — from facing Hamilton to Paris Saint-Germain.

‘Yes, the pace of the game in the Champions League is faster than anything that we’ll come up against in Scotland. But we have to learn from that.

‘We have to be able to change from playing a game on AstroTurf to a game like this if we’re to come up against the best teams in the world.

‘We were almost trying to do against PSG what other teams try to do to us at Celtic Park. It’s a reversal of how we normally play.

‘Against PSG we didn’t expect to have the upper hand in terms of possession, whereas we probably will in every game we play in Scotland. We look to dominate those types of games.

‘But we’ll have to be able to adapt and defend well and shut off the space far better when we come up against the top European teams. We have to stop these teams from playing against us. We just have to do that a bit better.

‘We felt disappointed in ourselves. We were up against a great team but I still think we could have done a bit better against them.’

Gordon (right) watched from the bench at the Nou Camp last year, having previously been dropped by Rodgers, when Barcelona put seven past Dorus de Vries without reply.

After Tuesday night’s chastening experience at Celtic Park, he believes that PSG’s holy trinity of Neymar, Mbappe and Cavani are even better than the trident the 25-year-old Brazilian superstar formed with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Barca.

‘It is close, but arguably yes,’ nodded Gordon.

‘The three of them, Neymar, Cavani and Mbappe, are pretty special. And it looks like it will be that way for a long time to come.

‘When you look at their movement, their pace and their finishing ability, it has to be one of the best forward lines around. They could be the best in the world right now.

‘The quality they have got is outstanding and it could take them very far in this competition.

‘It was always going to be a difficult task for us against PSG. They’ve spent a lot of money and brought in some of the best players in the world to bolster their squad. It was never going to be an easy night for Celtic.

‘We tried to play them at their own game and impose ourselves. But they had superior quality on the night and we have to accept that. Sometimes you just have to accept it’s a world-class football team you’re up against.’

Gordon urged Celtic to learn their lessons from the 5-0 thumping and channel it into their bid to beat Anderlecht to the Europa League parachute place.

‘The manager wasn’t too happy with how we pressed the ball,’ added the goalkeeper. ‘He wanted us to get closer to PSG. We allowed them too much easy possession.

‘But there was one point in the match when they had about ten passes inside their own penalty box. Even though we were pressing and trying to get the ball they still managed to play their way out. So we did try, but they had great technique on the ball, and they passed and moved it so well.

‘We have to learn from the experience. Anderlecht away will be another big game on September 27. We have to try to get a result there. In terms of the head-to-head, that could end up being a very important game in the

group.’