SCOTT Brown reckons Celtic got “a bit scared” during their 1-0 home defeat to Anderlecht and reckons the club must make Parkhead a fortress again if they are to make any headway in the Europa League. While the club showed demonstrable progress by reaching the last 32 of the continent’s second club competition with third place behind Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich in Group B, a home loss and sub-par performance to Anderlecht was a rather demoralising way to get over the line. After a match which saw him surpass Kenny Dalglish’s all-time mark of 69 appearances in the Champions League/European Cup, Brown accepted last night that their qualification was “bittersweet” and demanded better by the time the Europa League matches come around. For all the advances of the Brendan Rodgers era, the club are still waiting for their first home Champions League win.
"It’s kind of bittersweet to be perfectly honest,” the 32-year-old said. “We got what we wanted at the start of the group – the Europa League. But it’s not the performance we wanted and it’s not the way we like to dominate games, possession-based. We are a team that likes to press high up the park and out teams under pressure and they played us at our own game. We knew on Tuesday night that as long as we didn’t lose 3-0 we were okay and that was I think in the back of everyone’s heads.
"We defended quite well and were a bit unlucky with the goal while Craig has made a great save near the start," the 32-year-old added. "But it is all about the performance for us and it is not really what we wanted – I think it was like 600 passes to 200 and that is not like us, especially at home in front of our own fans. I think we got a little bit scared.
“Whoever we get next it is going to be a hard game. But especially in home games we need to try and make this a fortress again and be like it was and go back to winning at home. Because you need something at home to try and take away or vice versa to try and hold on to something. Everyone is a little disappointed with the result today but there is another European night to come at Celtic Park and away from home too. The break will be fantastic for us to go away and have two weeks off and recharge the batteries.”
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