Celtic boss Gordon Strachan has hit out at critics who labelled his tactics during the Champions League defeat by Benfica as defensive.
Strachan rested top scorer Scott McDonald and handed Chris Killen his second start for the club as a lone striker, with Aiden McGeady and Jiri Jarosik the wide men in a five-man midfield.
McGeady, Scott Brown and Massimo Donati all had shooting opportunities before Celtic were pegged back in the final quarter.
Oscar Cardozo's 87th-minute goal left the Hoops bottom of Group D but Strachan believes his tactics had offered scope for attacking as well as the rearguard action of the latter stages.
He said: "We were described as a defensive team on Wednesday - the same team that played against AC Milan apart from one. It was the same system and that was hailed as a fantastic performance and 'up and at 'em'. It's a system that Rangers and Hibs use, but nobody calls that defensive. But we play it again and that was a defensive performance. I couldn't see that. I wouldn't call Jarosik and McGeady defensive players by any stretch of the imagination."
Celtic may need to repeat their home win over Milan when Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk visit Parkhead but Strachan has faith in his team to progress.
"I think if we had lasted another three minutes, I'm sure even the harshest of critics would have said it was a fantastic result," the Hoops manager said.
"What gives me heart is the players. We are trying to play a system, it's working not too badly. It got us to the top of the table, it has got us three behind the leaders of our table in the Champions League, it has got us through to the next round of the League Cup. But our system needs to be tweaked a bit, we need to work it even more and to try to improve on that. So it's the players that give me heart."
Strachan started with McDonald on the bench at the Estadio da Luz to avoid losing his main striker, as Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Maciej Zurawski are out injured.
Celtic are also without a recognised right-back with Mark Wilson and Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe missing but Strachan was insistent that he would never use the injury list as an excuse.
"It's not a problem to us, I get on with it," he said.
"I'm not looking for excuses. The same people were out when we played AC Milan - we can deal with it. There can't be a blame for everything that happens in football. I think people have to say 'well, why did that happen?' It's football, it's just football sometimes. We do not have an answer to everything that goes on in the world, it's the same with football."
26 October 2007
Celtic midfielder Teddy Bjarnason has urged Gordon Strachan to give the club's key players a rest - so that he can take their place.
The Iceland international recovered from a broken metatarsal to take his place on the bench during the Old Firm defeat at Rangers last Saturday.
And the 20-year-old, who made his Celtic debut in the 2-1 defeat by Hibernian in May, is hopeful of getting his first game of the season as the club's heavy schedule continues.
Celtic suffered an energy-sapping late 1-0 defeat at Benfica on Wednesday and have Mark McGhee's in-form Motherwell to contend with at Parkhead in the Scottish Premier League.
And Bjarnason is waiting in the wings if Strachan feels his midfield needs freshening up.
"There have been loads of games and people must be starting to tire," Bjarnason told the Celtic View.
"That's when I'll be hoping to get my chance, when the manager has to use more players, and I'll be ready to take it. But I'll just have to wait and bide my time. The team is playing well this season and they have shown that by beating AC Milan, last season's Champions League winners. They have had a lot of difficult games and they have done very well, so I have to be patient."
Motherwell centre-half Mark Reynolds is also hoping to capitalise on Celtic's return from Portugal and tough 90 minutes in the Estadio da Luz.
The Scotland Under-21 defender said: "I do know from personal experience that doing a lot of travelling before games does take it out of you. They have a busy schedule so hopefully that will work in our favour, but at the same time they have a massive squad full of quality players that they can pull in who have fresh legs. We just need to concentrate on our game and as long as we turn up and put on a good show for our fans then hopefully the result will take care of itself."
The Steelmen last week followed up their CIS Insurance Cup win over Hibernian by foiling the Edinburgh side's bid to go top of the SPL with a 2-1 victory at Fir Park.
The Lanarkshire side have won three games on the road in the league this season as well as their 4-2 cup triumph at Easter Road.
And such form has convinced the 20-year-old that they should go to Celtic Park with confidence.
He told the club's official website: "The team is not scared of going anywhere or playing against any team at the moment and we know that on our day we can compete and beat anyone in this league, including the champions. Celtic are one of the top teams in Scotland and Europe so we are looking forward to going in against them and proving to everyone that we are a serious threat to be reckoned with this season."
25 October 2007
John Kennedy admits Celtic may have to depend on their home form to get them out of the group stages of the Champions League once again.
The Parkhead side's dismal away record in the group stages of the tournament was extended to 14 games without a win as they lost to a late Oscar Cardozo goal against Benfica in Lisbon.
Gordon Strachan's side are now bottom of Group D with one win against AC Milan in Glasgow set against a defeat in Ukraine against Shakhtar Donetsk and Wednesday's disappointment in the Stadium of Light.
Celtic won through to the last 16 of the Champions League last year with the nine points they garnered at Parkhead and Kennedy is looking for the same again.
The Celtic defender said: "Nine points could take us through again. If we can win all our home games then it gives us a great chance. We've done well in every game that we have played at home so we have to take that into the return game against Benfica in a fortnight and hope that we do well. Unfortunately we didn't get any points against Benfica so the return game is a big game now, it is crucial that we take three points to keep in touch and you never know what might happen."
The Scottish champions can have no complaints about the result which represented yet another disappointment on the road.
Strachan's side matched Benfica in the first half but after the break the Paraguay international Cardozo twice hit the woodwork and was denied by a world-class save from Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc before netting the winner four minutes from time.
Kennedy, however, insists the Parkhead side's dismal away record in the tournament is not affecting the players psychologically before games abroad.
He said: "I don't think so. It always gets mentioned but a lot of teams in Europe find it hard away from home and we are no different. Obviously last night was maybe a chance for us to get a point at least but we kind of threw it away at the end. You have to have a bit of luck to get results away from home and we thought for a long period that the luck was maybe with us. The boys worked so hard throughout the whole game to shut them down and so it was just so disappointing to lose at the end."
Benfica boss Jose Antonio Camacho was glad that his side got the late breakthrough.
He said: "It was horrible when we were creating chances and the ball wouldn't go in. I said that if we got the first goal we would not lose and that's what happened. The most important thing was three points, we were happy with that. Our next game is in Glasgow and we will be ready for that."
24 October 2007
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has declared that his side have such great ability that they are now not bothered about the formations or selection of players for European battles.
The Red Devils, who were jolted by the injury blows to Paul Scholes and Patrice Evra ahead of the game, attacked right from the word go in Tuesday's 4-2 Champions League away win at Dynamo Kiev.
"(Last season) we made some changes which didn't work out for us in Copenhagen (when they lost 1-0), then lost to Celtic and we had to win the last game in Lille but this side are more mature now," said Ferguson.
"But our attacking play was excellent tonight. We could have scored a lot of goals. Yes, there have been some moments when they were a bigger threat in second half but all in all we're very happy with the result. They're all adapting and getting on with it and we're not worried about which formations we're playing or which players because they've all got great ability. We're happy at the moment."
24 October 2007
Alex McLeish has praised the SPL for postponing the matches involving Rangers and Celtic prior to Scotland's Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy.
The SPL agreed to a request from the Scottish Football Association, instigated by McLeish, to rearrange Celtic's home match against Falkirk on November 10 and Rangers' trip to St Mirren the following day.
New dates for both games will be announced in "due course", the SPL have confirmed, and Scotland manager McLeish is delighted a large number of his players will have a free weekend ahead of the national team's crucial fixture.
"It's great news. We really pushed for it," McLeish told the Daily Mail.
"The managers were behind us all the way. It frees up about 10 players and, while I was never worried about match sharpness, it makes sure these players don't get injured. It is a real boost, a fantastic bonus, and we really appreciate it."
However the SPL are upset with the SFA who declined to meet the cost of postponing the two matches.
SFA chief executive Gordon Smith approached the SPL to seek the postponements after McLeish suggested it would benefit the national team for the Old Firm stars to be allowed a break.
But SPL executive chairman Lex Gold has been unhappy with the SFA's attitude towards finding a solution to suit all parties, and said: "It is a matter of considerable disappointment that the SFA has refused to help defray the costs which will be incurred by our clubs."
McLeish draws a significant number of his Scotland squad and first-choice line-up from Glasgow's biggest two teams, players such as captain Barry Ferguson, Lee McCulloch, David Weir, Paul Hartley, Alan Hutton, Kris Boyd and Stephen McManus.
23 October 2007
Kaka could potentially miss Wednesday's Champions League meeting between AC Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk at the San Siro due to a knee injury.
Kaka sat out AC Milan's humiliating 1-0 home defeat to Empoli at the weekend in preparation for the impending Champions League encounter with Shakhtar Donetsk, but could potentially miss that tie, too.
The Brazilian maestro is a slight doubt for the Matchday 3 tie due to a knee injury - one that was earlier played down by Milanese vice-president Adriano Galliani.
First team coach Carlo Ancelotti, though, refused to guarantee Kaka's presence against the Ukrainians.
"We have one more day to see if he can recover or not," said the manager.
Reigning champions Milan have taken three points from six so far, beating Benfica in the first match before losing out 2-1 to Celtic in Scotland in the second.
Kaka, aged 25, has an all-time Champions League record of 23 goals in 54 games. The former Sao Paolo attacker also set up the winning goal in last season's final, AC Milan defeating Liverpool 2-1 in Greece.
23 October 2007
Celtic keeper Artur Boruc has confirmed it was his dislike for Rangers which meant he did not shake hands with any opposition players at Ibrox.
The Poland international refused several hands at the end of Saturday's SPL clash, which Rangers won 3-0.
He said: "I don't have to love anyone. I don't like this club, these players."
In an interview with Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Boruc accused Rangers players of setting out to "provoke" and "offend" him before reverting to friendly terms at the final whistle.
"The season is continuing in Scotland, we are enemies and we are competing for the championship," said the 27-year-old.
Boruc will take his place in the Celtic side for Wednesday's Champions League match against Benfica, looking to put the weekend result behind him.
He said: "It will be hard to forget such a defeat. But we are already in Lisbon. It is my third visit to Lisbon and I have never won here."
Celtic were beaten 3-0 at the same stage of the competition last season, but Boruc stressed: "We want to win on Wednesday."
22 October 2007
Italy are dominating the Golden Ball list of 50 candidates with eight players, while Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona each contributed seven names on the list.
- Golden Ball 2007 nominees:
Éric Abidal (Olympique Lyon, FC Barcelona)
Daniel Alves (FC Sevilla)
David Beckham (Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy)
Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus Turin)
Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Petr Cech (Chelsea)
Rogerio Ceni (Sao Paulo)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Deco (FC Barcelona)
Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid)
Diego (Werder Bremen)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Michael Essien (Chelsea)
Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona)
Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Gennaro Gattuso (Milan)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Thierry Henry (Arsenal, FC Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter)
Filippo Inzaghi (Milan)
Kaka (Milan)
Frederic Kanoute (FC Sevilla)
Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen, Bayern Munchen)
Younis Mahmoud (Algharafa)
Paolo Maldini (Milan)
Florent Malouda (Olympique Lyon, Chelsea)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic Glasgow)
Guillermo Ochoa (America Mexico)
Andrea Pirlo (Milan),
Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto),
Raul (Real Madrid)
Franck Ribery (Olympique Marseille, Bayern Munchen),
Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors, Villarreal)
Robinho (Real Madrid)
Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
Clarence Seedorf (Milan)
Carlos Tevez (West Ham, Manchester United)
Luca Toni (Fiorentina, Bayern Munchen)
Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
Jose Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, Liverpool)
Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
David Villa (Valencia)
21 October 2007
Celtic's skipper Stephen McManus could play in their UEFA Champions League match with Benfica on Wednesday after getting the medical all-clear to travel.
McManus was a doubt for the crucial game in Lisbon after suffering a head knock during Celtic's 3-0 reverse to Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday.
He worryingly left the pitch on a stretcher wearing an oxygen mask after losing consciousness.
But he got the all-clear to travel on Sunday after spending Saturday night recovering at home after being released from hospital.
He will now join the rest of the squad at Glasgow Airport on Monday morning ahead of Wednesday's match.
A statement on www.celticfc.net said: "Doctors were happy with the results of the tests carried out on Stephen and his progress will be monitored by the Celtic medical team over the next few days."
Celtic go into the game - which will be screened live on Sky Sports Extra at 7.45pm - in second place in Group D with three points from their opening two games.
They will face a Benfica side desperate to win as they sit at the foot of the table with no points so far.
19 October 2007
Celtic midfielder Scott Brown will not be risked against Rangers tomorrow if there is any chance he could worsen his tweaked hamstring.
The Scotland international, who has impressed since joining from Hibernian for £4.4million in the summer, sustained the injury while on international duty for Scotland against Ukraine on Saturday.
Boss Gordon Strachan has denied Celtic have an injury crisis ahead of the crucial clash at Ibrox - but did admit there are a few players who are struggling. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Paul Hartley and Mark Wilson will all miss the match, while Gary Caldwell still needs to prove his fitness if he is to provide cover at right-back.
Strachan said: "Crisis is too big a word but we definitely have problems. Jim O'Brien eventually played at the back against Gretna in our last league match and he was right-back number six, I think. Jan and Paul can't do any training and Scott hasn't been able to work with us since he came back from the Scotland squad after the win over Ukraine. We'll look at Gary later to see if he has any chance of playing against Rangers but Scott won't be risked if there's any chance we could hamper him for even longer."
O'Brien, who has yet to start a first-team game for Celtic, has already declared his candidacy for the right-back slot - even though he prefers playing further up the park. However, Caldwell is likely to get the nod if he recovers from a knee problem - and then keep the position for next week's trip to Benfica.
Unsurprisingly given the injury situation, Strachan has questioned the logic of playing the game at 12.30pm on a Saturday when the national team has played just days before.
