i
have taken something out of the game,
And, although they lost to Barcelona, I
actually felt Celtic played better this year
than they did last year, even though the
outcome was different, You expect them
to have the bulk of possession but even
when Celtic were still positive even when
they went down to 10 men. Fraser Forster
wasn't tested until towards the end when
Celtic went behind and were pushing
for an equaliser. Before Fabregas scored,
Charlie did well to get to that header, but
I'm sure he will say he could have put that
away and it could have been different,
But the difference is now that Celtic don't
look out of place in the UEFA Champions
League. But they have to win this game.
At Celtic Park, with the crowd lifting them
to another level, they are capable of doing
it. When I got to the games, these ones are
the highlights - the atmosphere against
Barcelona, once again, was second to none,
So Celtic should take plenty of
encouragement into the game
tonight?
I am sure Neil Lennon and the players can.
They haven't been outclassed. Barcelona
maybe out-passed them but they aren't
alone in that. In the San Siro, they had
periods of the game where they made
chances, and had they taken them it would
have been different. It wasn't until late on
when they lost the two goals, They have
definitely not been outclassed and since
taking part in the Europa League two
years ago, they have grown in stature in
Europe,
Are there any players who you feel
will be key for Celtic tonight?
You will get games where someone will
perform slightly better than the others,
but I think there is a team ethos at Celtic,
In the game against Barcelona it was a
massive effort and no-one epitomised that
more than Georgios Samaras - the effort
he put in was tremendous.
And finally, what was your
European highlight from playing
with Celtic?
There are a few but I would probably
choose the semi-final against Leeds United
at Hampden in 1970. That epitomised
what it was about. We went behind but the
crowd just took us to another level, and on
the night we felt invincible,
Celtic v Ajax 47
