 Braga boss Domingos Paciencia is looking forward to preparing a warm welcome for Celtic as his side make their Champions League debut tonight. The north of Portugal was battered by temperatures reached almost 40 degrees Celsius yesterday afternoon which does not necessarily soot Neil Lennon's side. The game has an evening kick-off, which may take the worst of the heat out of the 90 minutes but it will still be difficult conditions to play the high tempo game Lennon likes. The manager is confident the North American tour provided some recent experience of playing in such high temperatures which may help them to acclimatise to the heat. However, Paciencia wants Braga to make things more difficult by giving them the runaround at the Estadio AXA. Having seen how Celtic like to play, Paciencia thinks he knows what is coming from Lennon's men. Speaking last night, he said: "Tomorrow, we will increase the temperature. Celtic don't change their way of playing, even if they play away or at home, so we expect an open game. They're a very strong team, physically. They're always looking to find players with the ball and are very aggressive, in a good way." Despite having only 11 days to scout Wednesday's opponents since the draw for the Champions League third qualifying round was made, Paciencia is happy with his homework. He said: "I've seen a lot of Celtic's matches. They have several good players." Paciencia was wary of Georgios Samaras, who can be anonymous one minute and brilliant the next. The Braga boss said: "He's a very important player in the team. He's important also because he can stretch the team in a different way." Braga qualified for the Champions League qualifiers by securing runners-up spot in the Portugese league, the best Braga had ever achieved, with the club forever overshadowed by Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Porto. Having enjoyed such spectacular success during his first year in charge, Paciencia is determined to maintain that momentum and stay in the spotlight. He said: "We made an impression last season and we are still a work in progress. This is a way for us to establish our name." |