Gallagher demands more support as he dreams of European glory
Motherwell skipper Declan Gallagher has called for Scottish football fans to give the country’s teams more backing as he dreams of the Europa League group stages.
Yesterday’s draw handed Well the carrot of a Fir Park play- off against Viktoria Plzen, who have won five of the last ten Czech titles, or Danish Cup holders Sonderjyske, if they win their next tie against Hapoel Beer- Sheva of Israel, and Gallagher is aiming high.
“The fact that it’s a one- legged tie, it’s like a cup final, anything can happen,” he said. “It’s one of the better draws we could have asked for but it’s still two very good teams, and three including Beer- Sheva. So it’s going to be a hard ask but you can always dream.
“A lot of people last season would probably have s ai d Motherwell getting third place and into European football again was a dream. You have to keep dreaming because, without ambition, what’s the point in playing football?
“We have to believe in ourselves and go to Israel and try to get a result. We will be the underdogs but hopefully that works in our favour.”
No S cotti s h cl ub outside Glasgow has reached a group stage since Aberdeen 13 years ago but Gallagher, below, feels t he countr y should back itself more.
The Dons, who host Motherwell tomorrow, joined Rangers, Celtic and the Lanarkshire side in the third qualifying round with victory over Viking Stavanger. On the prospect of reaching the groups, Gallagher said: “It would be massive for the club financially and for Scotland’s reputation.
“It would be a wee bit of a change to Scottish football and how people see us if we could make the group stages.
“Aberdeen got a great result away from home and it’s massive for Scottish football that all the clubs do well. That’s four teams still in Europe and if you look at the ties we all have, a really good chance of progressing into the play- off stage. “Scottish football gets criticised quite a lot from our f ans. We need t o star t being more positive and showing the world that Scotland is a proud nation and we deserve to be in these competitions with more than just Celtic and Rangers.
“The Europa League is the best of countries from all over Europe but people say ‘ it’s a part- time team, they should be beating them, Motherwell were rubbish’. It’s not ‘ Motherwell got through on a poor pitch with bad decisions’. It’s always negative.
“In England, you never see them being negative about their teams or players. They are always the best and that breeds confidence for English teams. I don’t feel Scottish football has that. Before every game, any team in Scotland is written off and there’s no backing for Scottish teams to do well. If we get that belief and the backing of every team in Scotland then Scottish clubs will progress and get better.”