Warsaw trip will be like going home for Celts star Juranovic
Josip Juranovic is relishing the prospect of a return to one of his old stomping grounds on Wednesday when Celtic head to Poland to take on Shakhtar Donetsk.
Due to the ongoing conflict back home, the Ukrainians have moved their Champions League ties to Warsaw.
The Legia Stadium is well known to Juranovic, having played there for the host club prior to his £2.5-million move to the Hoops last summer.
And despite the desire of Polish football fans to get behind Shakhtar – 18,000 tickets for their three ties were snapped up in just one day – he is bullish about his prospects of a warm welcome.
“I think they are coming to our game because of me,” said the 27-year-old withagrin.
“Poland is one of my three favourite countries. Going back there is something I’m looking forward to.
“But it is going to be very important to prepare ourselves properly because we need to take three points.
“People might think that a draw would be OK, but I say why just go for one point? We need to win.
“We will fight for second place in this group and, if we perform like we did in the first half against Real Madrid, we don’t need to be scared.
“Our fans might not be with us in the stadium, but after the amazing support they gave us in the Real game, they will be in our minds, for sure.
“We want to give them something back.”
While Celtic went down 3-0 to the reigning European champions last Tuesday night, there was much to like about their performances before they tired in the second half.
Juranovic, skipper Callum McGregor and Cameron Carter-Vickers were all very good.
Reo Hatate would not have looked out of place had he been wearing a Real jersey, such was his composure and class.
“We have had a really good start to the season, and our confidence is high,” said Juranovic.
“I spoke with Luka Modric after the game, and he thought we were good, especially in the first half, and that we need to continue playing that way.
“I think if we can do that, we can take some points in this group and push for second place.”
Modric received a standing ovation from the Celtic crowd when he was substituted near the end of the game. It was no more than he deserved.
Had the pitch been underwater, he would still have had a decent chance of being able to walk across its surface
without getting his feet wet.
It was a similar story when Modric ran the show in Croatia’s win over Scotland at Hampden during last summer’s Euros. Juranovic confirmed: “What can I say about Luka?
“He is the captain of Croatia, my national team, a really good person and, as you saw last Tuesday, a really good player.
“This is the standard of the Champions League, but if we can continue like we did early on against Real, we can take some points.
“All the teams are good, but we do not need to be scared because we are good, too. That is why we are involved.”
His message was echoed by
left-back, Greg Taylor, who had the unenviable task of trying to shackle Uruguayan star, Federico Valverde.
“It is a stage that we as players belong on,” said the 24-year-old Scot.
“Yes, the result shows we have got a bit to go, but we knew that. We go on to Shakhtar.”
There, he promises the Hoops will once again set out to blitz their opponents through a relentless highenergy, high press.
“It is the way we are coached. It is the only way we know,” said Taylor.
“That is definitely our best way of succeeding in all competitions, whether it’s the league, cup or Europe.
“We go into every game with that philosophy.
“Hopefully the next time these games come around, the result can be better because I think our performance was not a million miles away.”