Schubert is praying for a monsters’ ball tonight
BORUSSIA Monchengladbach manager Andre Schubert last night warned his players he needs 11 monsters on the pitch if the injury-hit Bundesliga side are to take precious points home from Celtic Park.
The German side approach this evening’s crunch Champions League encounter without five key players — Andreas Christensen, Thorgan Hazard, Fabian Johnson, Josip Drmic and Raffael.
Borussia are bottom of Group C with no points and Schubert has warned his men they must copy the ‘monster mentality’ of fit forward Andre Hahn to grab the result they so very badly need.
Schubert said: ‘We have to go into the game with a lot of aggression. We are going to meet with a lot of passion from the fans.
‘I know our striker Hahn has a monster mentality, but we need 11 of those against Celtic if we are to get a result.
‘Of course, it is always going to be difficult when you are missing key players in defence and in attack. And these guys who are missing for us score a lot of goals.
‘But we have good players to come in and we believe they can do well. Hopefully, we can get a result against Celtic.’
Schubert (below) has left no stone unturned ahead of the first leg of a double-header with the Scottish champions. And he admits his side will need to pay special attention to Scott Sinclair and in-form Celtic striker Moussa Dembele.
‘Celtic are a high-quality team and we have analysed their games domestically and also in Europe,’ he said. ‘Celtic have a number of dangerous strikers such as Dembele and Sinclair. Sinclair, in particular, is very good in one-on-one situations.
‘But we also have very good players ourselves and we will need to make our quality count. We have to defend well and play with power.
‘We will try to do our best and improve on our performance against Hamburg (drawing 0-0 at the weekend).
‘We still have dangerous players like Hahn and we have other players who can come in for those who miss out.’
Borussia midfielder Christoph Kramer, meanwhile, is best known for being concussed in the 2014 World Cup Final after a collision with Argentina’s Ezequiel Garay.
Referee Nicola Rizzoli reported that the 25-year-old asked him if ‘this really is the World Cup Final’ before going off 14 minutes later.
Kramer is the proud owner of a World Cup winners’ medal after Germany won 1-0 in extra-time.
And he hopes his experiences in Brazil will help him cope with the Celtic Park atmosphere, where he believes his side can avoid a knockout blow to their Champions League aspirations.
But he admits to googling old games at Parkhead in a bid to fully prepare himself for the assault on the eardrums he will face as the teams walk out of the tunnel.
‘I can remember the World Cup Final now and I remember a great atmosphere,’ he said. ‘It will be the same here at Celtic Park.
‘I didn’t play against Brazil (when Germany beat the hosts 7-1 in the semi-finals), but I was in the squad. To be involved in such a match also helps me prepare to play Celtic.
‘I have watched footage of Celtic’s Champions League games on YouTube and I can see that it is special. In particular, I watched footage of a game against Liverpool when the fans sang You’ll Never Walk Alone. ‘So I know that the atmosphere is different and unique here. But I do not fear coming here to Celtic Park. We are not scared of it. We are all looking forward to it. ‘We have earned our place and we deserve to be here. ‘Yes, we have a tough challenge facing us in Glasgow, but we must play to win. Ultimately, we want three points, but a draw could be acceptable.’ Kramer accepts that Scottish football is vastly inferior to the Bundesliga, but he warned his team-mates that Celtic’s recent 3-3 draw with Manchester City proves they are not reflective of the quality of the SPFL. ‘Scottish football isn’t as good as it is in Germany, but Celtic is special,’ he said. ‘They are a very good team and we have seen that recently against Manchester City. ‘Celtic are a Champions League team and I would say there are no favourites for this game. It is very much 50-50.’