Belgians on £35k a man to KO Celts
ANDERLECHT players are on a whopping £35,000-a-man bonus to dump Celtic in tonight’s Champions League crunch in Brussels.
And stand-in boss Nicolas Frutos insists the Belgians are favourites to come out on top in the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.
The Belgian champions have dangled a £500,000 pot as an incentive to win the battle of the sides who both started their Group B campaign with defeats.
Celtic lost 5-0 at home to PSG while Anderlecht went down 3-0 to European powerhouse Bayern Munich in Germany.
The Hoops are expected to scrap it out with the Belgians for third spot which would see them secure post-Christmas European football.
Anderlecht realise the importance of this tie which is why they will stump up almost a third of what they got for winning the Jupiler Pro League last term.
The Belgians, who will be on £20,000
From Back Page per player for a draw, received £100,000 for winning 12 games to reach the Europa League quarter-final before losing to Manchester United last season. As well as the money on offer, former Anderlecht star Frutos is also desperate to land the manager’s job on a permanent basis. The rookie has managed back-to-back wins since succeeding axed Rene Weiler and faces his toughest test yet against the Scottish champions. But Frutos – who picked out skipper Scott Brown and Patrick Roberts as Celtic’s key men – said: “Of course we are favourites because we are at home. If Celtic were at home they would be the favourites. Both teams know they can get points in this game though. “Celtic play a very good collective game. They are physical but I wouldn’t say their style is 100 per cent Scottish like before. They are still physical but they have quality players like Patrick Roberts and the captain (Scott Brown), who has been there forever.
“They have a good mix of experienced players and have speed up front. They will work hard and so will we.
“We know this game and the one in Glasgow will be key to deciding who finishes third. But the Champions League involves six finals and we have to perform to our best in each of them.”
Anderlecht stalwart Olivier Deschacht is the only survivor from the side who played Celtic 14 years ago, winning 1-0 at home and losing 3-1 in Glasgow.
And he admitted: “Our side was better back then. We had a big guy in Yves Vanderhaeghe in midfield and Vincent Kompany at the back.
“Now there’s less balance because of all the injuries and some players are still looking for their best form. Sometimes you need a game like this to help you work out these problems.”