Handy Poles will be no pushovers

CELTIC will need to raise their game to get past Legia Warsaw.

That’s the warning from St Patrick’s Athletic boss Liam Buckley, who warns the Polish champions will be an entirely different proposition for the Hoops from KR Reykjavik.

If they overcome this hurdle, they will go through to a playoff, which guarantees a Europa League group place at worst.

Legia were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw at home to St Pat’s in their first leg. In the return in Dublin last Wednesday night, however, they recorded an emphatic 5-0 win to waltz through to meet the Hoops.

That earned them a great deal of respect from Buckley.

“Legia won’t be hit for five,” he said, in reference to the 5-0 aggregate win Ronny Deila’s men ran up over the Icelanders.

“They will give Celtic a game. “They have a lot of internationalists, a lot of top players and they are getting better all the time.

“We watched all their friendly matches before they played us, and their performance in Dublin is the best they’ve played since they came back.

“They were certainly a far slicker outfit than us.

“To lose 5-0 in the second leg of our tie was a bit harsh on us.

“If it had been two or three, that would have been a fairer reflection of the game.

“A couple of the goals we conceded were sloppy and we gave the ball away cheaply.

“If we played them 10 times and played like that, they would beat us 10 times. At our best? Well, we might do them once or twice.

“They’ve some good players, like Miroslav Radovic, who scored their lateequaliserinthefirstleg, thenhit the first two in the second leg.

“But the most impressive thing was their collective spirit.

“Now they have Celtic to face, and I am sure they will do their homework before that one.

“I would expect them to really apply themselves. They certainly won’t be any pushovers.

“It’s sure to be a very interesting game in Poland.”