CELTIC’S result in Malmo won’t just decide whether they play Champions League football this season, it will also likely dictate whether they can hold on to Virgil van Dijk for the foreseeable future.
English clubs have been circling around the Dutchman for a while and I think the only way he might stay is if they make it through to the group phase and there are big European nights to look forward to again. Otherwise, I fear for Celtic that Van Dijk, pictured, will be away before the transfer window closes.
So, Tuesday night in Sweden is a massive match for the club in more ways than one. Of course, they will need to defend a lot better than they have done in many of their recent games. There were signs of frailty in the first league game of the season against Ross County when we were unfortunate not to score one or two goals, and since then, they have shipped two to Kilmarnock, Inverness and, of course, Malmo. That will worry Ronny Deila and he will be determined to try to sort it out before the second leg as they will need to try to keep things tight.
I read the Malmo manager, Age Hareide, said after the first leg he didn’t think Celtic had the legs to go for 90 minutes but that’s harsh. We know how serious and dedicated Deila is on sports science and all that stuff, so Celtic are definitely a fit team. You can’t say otherwise. This is just Hareide playing mind games. He was at the Kilmarnock game, so he’s seen them lose a few late goals and is now trying to make them worry ahead of Tuesday.
But it is concerning for Celtic. They can’t blame Scottish sides for not testing them enough now. They just have to look after themselves and make sure they cut out any daft mistakes at the back that could cost them as has been the case in recent games. For Malmo’s second goal last week, Van Dijk gets blocked at the corner, they lose the header, nobody reacts quickly enough and Jo Inge Berget scores. That was symptomatic of the many deficiencies in Celtic’s defence over the last few weeks. They have been switching off mentally at times and that’s worrying going into potentially the biggest game of their season.
Malmo’s second goal alters things significantly. On paper, Celtic are the stronger of the two sides but one goal is all Malmo need now. So it will be a nervous night and if it’s 0-0 with 10 minutes to go, there will be Celtic fans watching through the cracks of their fingers. But they showed away to Qarabag they can survive that kind of test and they will need to be as strong defensively again on Tuesday.
What goes in Celtic’s favour is that they look good going forward and Leigh Griffiths did well for them in the home leg. So it might almost be a case of them making sure they score one more than Malmo – regardless of the scoreline – if that’s what it takes.
THE Scott Allan transfer saga has helped build a barrier between Mark Warburton and Alan Stubbs and it was obvious there is no love lost between the pair during their exchanges via the media last week. It all adds to what should be a terrific match between Rangers and Hibs at Ibrox this afternoon.
I read Stubbs’ quote about how Rangers are an easy club to manage when you’ve got money. Well, you could have said that last year about Ally McCoist and look what happened there when they struggled and failed to win promotion.
So it’s not quite as straightforward as Stubbs is saying as there’s always pressure when you are the manager of a big team. I think it’s just him trying to rock the boat ahead of the game. Two of our bigger teams are going head to head in the Championship and now there’s this bit of extra needle. If we’re honest, it’s what we all want to see.
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