Sviatchenko: If we don’t win the title we should all retire
ERIK SVIATCHENKO last night described Celtic as Scottish football’s flagship and admitted all his team-mates should retire if they don’t win the league.
And the Danish defender handed out another warning to their rivals, which has become a pattern of late, when he revealed Celtic never tire of winning and that planning has already begun to ensure the club plays Champions League football next season.
Talk of titles and trebles has been banned by Brendan Rodgers, but it is getting almost impossible for any of his players not to mention the joint goals of a clean sweep and going through the domestic campaign unbeaten, which as time goes on seems more a possibility.
Sviatcheko said: “We are a flagship for Scottish football at the moment, but teams like Rangers, Aberdeen and Hearts make it a good league as well and it is exciting to be part of it for me. We have respect for our opponents. Although we should all probably stop playing football if we don’t win the championship this season!
“But there are plenty of other goals we are striving for. We have already overtaken the unbeaten record of the Lisbon Lions from 50 years ago and we want to create a record no one can ever beat. And our preparations for the Champions League for next season started the day we were knocked out of this year’s competition. We have a project in the Champions League for four or five years. It’s a natural part of being a big club to do well in that.”
Sviatchenko also defended Scottish football and insists the league is not a complete walkover for the Parkhead side, even if Rodgers’s men are aiming to win the title by a record margin, clinch the treble and not lose a single game.
He said: “I never get tired of winning. Although we have had a lot of winning games, we have had to work hard for them and, regardless of what people think, they don’t happen by themselves. We are the favourites in every game, but it can be hard. For example, St Johnstone were 2-1 up on us the other week.
“Our opponents play aggressive football and are good at organising themselves against us. There are no matches that are a walkover – often we just win by one goal.”
Celtic, meanwhile, yesterday announced that the club’s Soccer Academy International Partnership Programme has reached New Zealand. Based in the Tauranga region, the New Zealand Football Academy hopes to give the best young talent in the country a chance to make it as a professional in one of Europe’s bigger leagues, with Glasgow the obvious preferred destination for the cream of the crop.