WE MUST TURN UP VOLUME
Lennon wants players to rise to the occasion amid fans’ absence
ACROSS Europe, Celtic Park is becoming a fixture on middle-aged bucket lists — one of the places to go and see while there’s still time.
Football fans who have never been to a European game want to try it at least once to see if Glasgow’s east end lives up to the hype. When they do, there’s the expectation of a raucous wall of sound that is hard to match in other grounds.
All of which makes tonight’s Europa League clash with Rennes a peculiar business.
The suspension of the Green Brigade from Section 118 in the corner of the stadium reduces the potential for fireworks. And heightens the risk of an anti-climax for football tourists.
An artificial creation brimming over with their own self importance, the ultras have become a Frankenstein’s monster. Sometimes less is more and a lengthy, self-justifying statement released on Tuesday suggests, on that score, the penny has yet to drop.
Citing their many commendable charitable deeds in the name of the poor and society’s disadvantaged does nothing to alter an inconvenient fact. Igniting pyrotechnics in Scottish football grounds is a criminal act — a bizarre fixation better suited to Guy Fawkes Night than a stadium full of 60,000 people. The Europa League is a UEFA competition. And in UEFA competitions, you have to play by UEFA rules.
While their absence tonight reduces the likelihood of sweary banners or pyrotechnics and yet another fine coming Celtic’s way, it also means less noise in the stadium. And less noise means less of the atmosphere for which nights like these are now known.
Like other ultra groups, the Green Brigade have become one of modern football’s great conundrums. And no one is sure how best to handle them.
‘We’re all hoping this will be a short-term thing,’ admitted Celtic boss Neil Lennon. ‘There will be a little bit of a void there but the players can’t think about that and I don’t want any negativity surrounding this game.’
Maybe so. But almost nothing about tonight’s meeting with Rennes is typical.
For a start, Celtic are already in the last 32 before a ball is kicked in anger. Their French opponents are playing for nothing more than pride.
And the very people who can usually be relied upon to lift the atmosphere beyond the lethargic and the mundane on these nights won’t be there after Celtic enforced a voluntary form of strict liability on themselves by shutting down 14 rows of the ultras’ self-standing area in a pre-emptive strike. On Monday, UEFA banned Feyenoord from selling tickets to their fans for next month’s Europa League game at Porto following crowd trouble during their match with Young Boys.
Speaking at yesterday’s agm, chief executive Peter Lawwell admitted Celtic felt compelled to act against unruly fans before
UEFA did it for them. Lennon wants to finish top of this Europa League section for a few reasons, yet the actions of a fans’ group who seem to think they’re bigger than the team is in danger of sucking the energy from the actual team.
Celtic have never actually managed to finish top of a qualifying group before and a noisy Parkhead wouldn’t do them any harm at all.
Topping the group would mean avoiding the Champions League drop-offs in the draw for the round of 32. It would also open a window of opportunity for the trip to Cluj for the final game.
Four days after the Betfred Cup final against Rangers, in a month when his team play nine games in 28 days, Lennon could take a team of kids to Romania and give his big guns a bit of a rest.
‘That’s important with all the games in December,’ he admitted. ‘We can also give some who haven’t played as much the opportunity of a competitive, good quality game.’
To that end, Lennon will stress the importance of a fourth win in five Europa League games tonight. Olivier Ntcham will start in midfield, while Moritz Bauer will get a run at right-back. Yet the Celtic boss wants that top spot and will do all he can to build-up the occasion to his players.
‘I will try and put out the strongest team possible,’ said Lennon. ‘Mikey Johnston is back and will be on the bench. Olivier Ntcham will definitely start because he’s been playing well and will bring a bit of freshness into the midfield. The rest is basically as you were.
‘You try and add pressure to it. Try and win the game first of all and keep your momentum going.
‘Because if you lose the game, it can affect you a little bit psychologically. The danger with Rennes is how they approach the game — do they come with a freedom? Will they play younger ones? Or do they just fulfil a fixture?
‘Whether you want to call it a record or a milestone — just keep ticking them off. Our home form is important, whether it be domestically or in Europe.
‘I don’t think there will be any coming off it from the players. We will definitely try to instil the edge in them and play at the tempo we want to play at.
‘I’d like to finish the group with a 100-per-cent home record. So we will try and reinforce that to the players before kick-off.’
Expected to be the dark horse of the group, Rennes have been a major let-down. A point secured against Celtic in France is all the Ligue One side have to show for their efforts so far.
Their hopes of qualification gone, Lennon admitted their poor form in the group has been a surprise.
‘At the start of the season they were fine. We were really wary of them going into the first game,’ he said.
‘They had beaten PSG and had a couple of good results. They came off it a bit and have been a bit inconsistent, but what their mindset is coming into this game, I just don’t know.’