Celtic must close back door if window to Europe is to open

Chief football writer

Friday 3 August 2012

WHEN Neil Lennon talked up the prospects of his Celtic team scoring a precious away goal against HJK Helsinki in Finland next week his opinion came with an unexpressed companion: they'll probably have to.

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Michael Grant

The first-leg lead constructed by the Scottish champions on Wednesday night is good enough for them to reach the Champions League play-off round without the need for additional scoring. That would require their defenders to keep a clean sheet, though, and in European trips that task has been beyond them for quite a while. Lennon's eagerness to stress his team's scoring potential was an acknowledgment of both their attacking strength and their defensive vulnerability.

Celtic are as likely to go through as to go out. They are capable of scoring and conceding, and it is the latter weakness – evident time and time again in European away games – which prevents many supporters from being able to trust the team to see the job through next Wednesday. Celtic have to prove they deserve to be only one round from the lucrative group stages and they also have to prove to their followers that, for once, they can withstand the inevitable pressure which comes in away ties.Lennon has had six European trips as manager and witnessed his teams concede 14 goals. They let in one away to Rennes and Udinese, two at Atletico Madrid, three in Braga and Sion and four at Utrecht. There may be a compelling argument that HJK Helsinki are weaker than any of those opponents but Celtic are not entitled to show complacency. The same movie has unfolded so many times in the past, regardless of whether the manager was Lennon, Tony Mowbray, Gordon Strachan or Martin O'Neill, that supporters need only close their eyes to imagine some awful defensive error gifting Helsinki a goal and an advantage in the tie next week. Conceding early goals has been a particular curse on Celtic's trips.Despite a generally encouraging first-leg performance a clean sheet was beyond them at Parkhead. Rasmus Schuller squeezed the ball into the net at the second attempt when Fraser Forster and Victor Wanyama could not clear his first effort. Wanyama did not look especially comfortable in his central defensive partnership with Charlie Mulgrew. The pair were preferred to Thomas Rogne and Kelvin Wilson. HJK played Juho Makela as the striker in a 4-5-1 but the pace and directness of Demba Savage and especially Seb Mannstrom, coming in from the wings, troubled them.A clean sheet in Helsinki would in itself be enormously satisfying for Lennon, quite apart from guaranteeing progress in the competition, but when James Forrest spoke to the media yesterday he repeated the view that Celtic's prospects may rest on claiming an away goal of their own. "Over the last couple of years we've conceded three to Sion, four to Utrecht and things like that," said Forrest. "Obviously that will be at the back of our heads. With the amount of chances we created we can take a lot from the first leg. I don't think we've really got the team to sit back and defend. With the players we have in the team I can see us going out to try and grab a few goals over there."Over the last couple of years we've not really been good in the qualifiers, maybe because it's right at the start of the season. We have done better this year and won the first leg. We have the same squad, we've been with each other for a couple of years now and I think we're better than we were two years ago."I can see us getting a good result over there. We have enough players to field two strong teams and we have a lot of cover as well. Even if we don't sign any new players I still think we have the players to get into the Champions League."Forrest was promoting tickets sales for Celtic's opening SPL game against Aberdeen tomorrow. The match kicks off at 12.45pm and the championship flag will be unfurled before it starts by club legend Sean Fallon. Lennon, talking to Celtic TV, called for supporters to fill the stadium. "I hope it's a full house," he said. "It's a celebration of what went on last season. We haven't had it here for a while so it's a great way to open the season. Hopefully the players can put on a good performance for all our fans."

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Celtic must close back door if window to Europe is to open

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