Celtic are out to take advantage of French connections
THE Celtic players stepping out at Stade Rennais’s Roazhon Park shouldn’t need any extra motivation as they kick off their Europa League group campaign this evening, but there should be something of an added edge for a good few of their number.
The likes of Christopher Jullien, Olivier Ntcham and Odsonne Edouard are of course making a return to their homeland, and Neil Lennon is hoping that they have come back with a mind on proving a point to their countrymen about just how good both they and their team can be.
Certainly, the Celtic manager knows that if the Scottish champions are to leave France with anything, he will need all of those players to be right at the top of their game.
“I used to love going back to Ireland or even going to England with Celtic and playing there having played there for so long,” said Lennon.
“There’s just that little bit extra. One, there’s the familiarity for them, and two, there’s a point to prove. That’s a nice motivation for them.
“I always say to the players that you never know who is watching. Not that we want them to go, but you always want to leave a good impression on people.
“[Thursday] night is the start of an exciting group. And the players should be excited. They have been in good form and there is no reason why they cannot carry that good form into this match.”
Of the French triumvirate likely to play tonight, Edouard is the one who has been making the biggest waves recently back home.
His four goals in his first two games for the France Under-21 side last week have made the French footballing public sit up and take notice of a forward who has started the campaign in blistering form.
“He’s getting a lot of publicity, but you wouldn’t know with Odsonne, he seems to take it in his stride,” he said. “You are looking for your big players in big games, and this is why we’re in the Europa League.
“We want to perform, and we want to prevail, and we will need a good performance from him if we are going to do that I think.”
As well as the form of his star striker, what gives Lennon hope that Celtic can get something against Julien Stephan’s men is that they have started to pull around their historically woeful away record in European competition.
Celtic have won just one Europa League away group game, the triumph over Rosenborg last November, but remaining unbeaten on the road in their ultimately unsuccessful attempt at qualification for the Champions League this summer has boosted Lennon’s confidence about the way his players handle playing away from Celtic Park. They have now lost just one of their last six European away games.
“I wouldn’t say we passed those tests no bother, but this is a step up again,” he said.
“I think Cluj could be sticky in this group for all of us, I wouldn’t say they were complete outsiders, so to go there and get a draw was a good result at the time. And we’ve improved since then.
“So, I’m delighted with the away form and then the icing on the cake was the qualification game in Stockholm when we were outstanding.
“I’m hoping to carry a bit more of that into this game, although we know it’s a step up in class. It’s certainly a game though that we feel we can maybe get something out of. We have to try not to be surprised by the way they play. We know that we may not dominate the ball, so our shape out of possession has to be good and compact.
“We have to be brave on the ball in the attacking half of the pitch, and I’ve seen that a lot from this team. I don’t want us to go and be passive and pass the ball for the sake of passing it.
“We want to play in their half at times and make them defend. They are defensively solid, they get numbers back, but there will be spells in the game when we are on top and we have to make the most of those spells.”
Lennon’s own return to Rennes also allowed him to reminisce about a pivotal result he garnered at this same ground back in 2011 during his first spell in charge of the club, where a 1-1 draw courtesy of a Joe Ledley strike after a Cha Du-Ri own goal acted as something of a launchpad for the success that followed.
“I’m a totally different manager now than in 2011,” he said. “I’m a lot more relaxed and calmer about things.
“I have got a really good staff behind me and the makings of a good team, so I am really happy.”
There’s just that little bit extra. One, there’s the familiarity for them, and two, there’s a point to prove. That’s a nice motivation for them