Gordon Strachan has the unenviable task of trying to lift his team for today's game at Paradise following their demoralising defeat at Old Trafford on Tuesday. The manager will insist that his side be fully focused on the league match against Hibernian at Celtic Park today and that they put all thoughts of Manchester United out of their heads as they seek to consolidate their position at the top of the SPL.
Celtic have handled the transformation between Champions League glamour games and bread-and-butter SPL matches quite well over the past couple of seasons and in fact in the last two years they've only lost once following a midweek European game. "Our record before and after UEFA Champions League games has been exceptional and that's all down to the players" said the manager. "It's not easy playing SPL games before and after these huge European matches. The players have equipped themselves well and hopefully they can continue that this weekend."
Celts boss Strachan expects a difficult game "Hibs are a threat to any team and it will be hard for us. They have good forwards, there are goals in the team and they have ability." he said "The best way to combat that threat is to keep the ball up the other end. When they do attack, we have to deal with it. I watched the Edinburgh derby last week and it was a great match. I loved every minute of it and I'm sure we'll get another good game tomorrow."
The manager knows all about the ability of Derek Riordan who makes his return to Glasgow for the first time since going home to Easter Road in the summer and he said that the forward was unlucky at Celtic Park "Derek was unfortunate that during his time here he was up against three consecutive Scottish Player of the Years in Maloney, Nakamura and McGeady." said the boss "When he had to play up front, there were guys who were scoring 20 or 30 goals per season. He was unfortunate in that way, but he doesn't have to prove anything to anyone at Celtic. He contributed to our success at this club. We thank him for what he did here and we wish him all the best for the future."
By way of contrast Celtic's other recent recruit from Easter Road made the transition to first team regular for the Hoops almost instantly. Most Celtic fans would probably agree that we've only started to see the best of Gary Caldwell in the last six months but the manager insists that the defender has always been in exceptional form "I think Gary's been sensational since signing for Celtic." he said "He listens to everything on the training pitch. When we ask him to play in another position, like in midfield against Man United, it's not a problem to him, because he understands football."
Tuesday night's match officials at Old Trafford have admitted that they blundered by allowing Manchester United's first two goals which were both scored from offside positions but the Celtic boss just wants to put it behind him. "There's nothing we can about it now. We were unfortunate when we went to Old Trafford the last time and got a penalty given against Artur Boruc, which wasn't a foul. But that's life and you get on with it. We've had a couple of decisions for us this year and we've had a couple against us. That's life and we get on with it, we're finished with Man United now."
Strachan knows that you have to earn the right to compete with Europe's finest "We keep the dream of progressing further but to do that you have to keep winning leagues. The dream is to get to the last eight and we almost made it two years ago when we could have a late penalty against AC Milan." he said "If you don't win championships, then you can't play against the best. We've got ourselves in a position, because of our guts, ability and determination, where we can play against the best teams in Europe. We'll work hard to do it again."