No inferiority complex now, says AEK boss
TIMID and unconvincing for the first quarter of the game in Glasgow, AEK Athens ended the night nursing a mild sense of regret that they hadn’t claimed the victory which would already have given them one foot in the play-off round.
For Marinos Ouzounidis’ side, the root of such burgeoning confidence came not through ridding themselves of self-doubt. It stemmed more from a growing appreciation that the respect they had initially afforded the Celtic defence was hard to justify.
In the Olympic Stadium tonight, both the personnel and shape of Brendan Rodgers’ back line may change. Kristoffer Ajer misses out through suspension, Dedryck Boyata isn’t even in the country, while a three-man unit could be deployed to accommodate both Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths up front.
Irrespective of the faces the Celtic manager selects at the back and the modus operandi he employs, rest assured that AEK will not start with the same inferiority complex.
‘Celtic is a great club,’ said Ouzounidis. ‘They also have some great players such as (Jozo) Simunovic and (Jack) Hendry. They both played last year in some of the major Celtic wins.
‘But we saw in the first match that if we exercise some pressure quite high, then this might create some issues for their defending line.
‘I watched their match against Hearts. They did have some issues but this probably wasn’t just a result of their defensive performance. It wasn’t just the fault of the defensive line, it was the whole team that was a bit, maybe, tired. They didn’t have the freshness that we actually experience in our own encounter.’
The one crumb of comfort for Celtic in these increasingly difficult moments is that the equation tonight could not be any clearer. They have to score in 90 minutes to stand any chance of progressing.
In contrast, as enviable as AEK’s position is, Ouzounidis finds himself in a classic ‘stick or twist’ scenario in that the Greeks do not necessarily need to score to advance. On this perceived dilemma, however, the AEK manager offers no ambiguity.
‘Some might say the first result leaves room for some additional thinking about not conceding any goals. That’s wrong,’ he stated.
‘There are a couple of things we have to do, the first thing is to be better than we were in the first leg. The second thing is to try to win the match. If we start to discuss not conceding goals or keeping the ball, then things can get really difficult for us.’
A former Greek international captain, Ouzounidis’ cool demeanour yesterday was in sharp contrast to the rising temperature outwith the stadium’s walls.
He had a decent if rather unconvincing stab at labelling Celtic favourites to progress. The stark fact is that having waited 14 years to win the title they claimed this year, their famously excitable support fully expects them to see them in the group stage.
‘There is no pressure on our side given that Celtic is supposed to have all the pressure,’ said the 49-year-old.
‘I told my players in the first match that there was no reason to feel pressure. We have to be cool, we have to keep our composure and be concentrated on the match.
‘We’re not going to play this match having in mind that we have to take a goalless draw. Our objective is to win.’
With Konstantinos Galanopoulos suspended after being sent off in Glasgow, Ouzounidis will be forced into a degree of tinkering but does not anticipate wholesale changes.
Less clear to Ouzounidis last night was the personnel his players will face. Moussa Dembele has travelled two weeks ahead of his expected return from a hamstring strain.
Dembele’s likely return as a substitute could not be more welcome for the visitors.
Between John McGinn slipping through the net, Rodgers’ bemoaning the lack of signings, Boyata’s agent storming Lennoxtown and a loss to Hearts, the Scots do not have their troubles to seek.
‘There might be some issues within the club but we are talking about a Champions League match,’ said Ouzounidis. ‘And this means that all these issues are of minor importance.’