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| <-Page | <-Team | Sun 19 Nov 2006 Hearts 0 Rangers 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ Old Firm | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Eduard Malofeev | <-auth | DARRYL BROADFOOT | auth-> | Douglas McDonald |
| 22 | of 120 | ----- Nacho Novo 78 | L SPL | H |
Case for the defence, by Gary CaldwellDARRYL BROADFOOT November 18 2006 Celtic are on the verge of a commendable clean sweep of 11 victories against all their Bank of Scotland Premierleague opponents. A win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle this afternoon will complete a flawless fandango through the fixture calendar. Yet such is the way of it at Parkhead, that the prospect is overshadowed by the haunting presence of Manchester United. Yesterday, Gordon Strachan and Gary Caldwell did their best to prioritise. Celtic, currently 15 points ahead of Rangers and Hearts in the Premierleague, could further enhance their lead after the forlorn chasers meet at Tynecastle tomorrow. The return to a tantalising Champions League Group F may be at the back of their minds but it remains at the forefront of the supporters' thoughts. For Caldwell, the visit of Sir Alex Ferguson's Premiership leaders represents a perfect opportunity to atone for his personal woe in Lisbon, when an own goal and a grim misjudgment helped Benfica to a 3-0 feast. It compounded his awkward tackle on David Fernandez that inflicted cruciate ligament damage on the Kilmarnock striker. "Benfica was difficult," he recalled. "The first mistake looks good compared to the second and that they happened within the first 20 minutes makes it even harder. To play another 70 minutes in that atmosphere was difficult. In that situation you have to forget it because we were playing Hearts straight after it. Sometimes you can analyse it too much, so when you are playing in a top-of-the-table match on the Saturday it is better to get it out of your head and remember the good things you have done. "I have grown as a player and a person. I am still pretty young. I have had good times and bad times but every player has that, it's how you come back from it that counts." Celtic's youthful squad have gained invaluable European experience and that education has elicited a positive response. Fears over Caldwell and Stephen McManus coping in the fierce atmosphere at Old Trafford were allayed even in defeat, with Thomas Gravesen the unexpected sinner. "We played well at Old Trafford but lost three goals and that's what cost us," he said. "Defensively we have to be better because they have some of the best strikers in the world." His manager concurred but Strachan has never been slow in welcoming a challenge. The defeat by Benfica, allied to FC Copenhagen's surprise win against United, has changed the group dynamic but Celtic, in second place, remain in control of their destiny. "We have got to stand up against Manchester United," he said. "You would scare yourself if you watched videos of them. Three-quarters of our Champions League campaign has been good and we can only hope we continue the good performances. "They have the best players in the world in the English Premiership but we won't accept that we cannot beat them. We will be underdogs but we also have the feeling we can win the game as well." There are more pressing concerns. Charlie Christie's side were the last to deprive Celtic of maximum points, earning a late 1-1 draw at the Caledonian Stadium in August. They are counter-attack specialists and have one of the best away records in the league. Celtic's winning sequence since has not been without regular concession. Their last clean sheet on league duty was in a 1-0 win against Falkirk at the start of last month. It has not been detrimental to an apparently unstoppable title defence but Strachan's perfectionist streak manifested itself in a rerun of last weekend's 3-1 win against St Mirren and, in particular, the John Sutton goal that sparked a brief revival. "We discussed the goal against St Mirren this morning and every one of the back four had his hand up at some stage saying 'I made a wee mistake there'," revealed Caldwell. "We haven't kept a clean sheet for a while but we've still managed a good run. Winning becomes a habit, as can losing, and we have been winning games at times when we haven't been playing particularly well. We have that mentality now but we have to keep working hard and keep our eye on the ball. "It's up to ourselves to keep performing and then the pressure is on other teams. We cannot, though, take our eye off Inverness. Some teams come here and sit in and all it takes is one mistake but Inverness are a good counter-attacking team." Strachan was equally wary of Inverness's threat. "They are quick to get up the pitch, that's how they played against Hibs. They're no mugs," he said. Strachan's satisfaction with his squad need not prevent a January spruce-up. Though the manager admitted to a more reactive approach, should any "ridiculous" offers be forthcoming, he is also expected to do his homework on pre-contract Bosman signings. Michal Kadlec and Anatoliy Tymoschuk, in whom Celtic have retained an interest, are both approaching the end of their contracts, while the futures of Bobo Balde, Derek Riordan and Shaun Maloney could become clearer by the turn of the year. Strachan, though, gave no credence to rumours suggesting Celtic are watching developments at Ibrox, where Chris Burke has postponed contract talks until the New Year. "If we get a ridiculous bid for someone we have to be on our toes. We have people in mind if we need to move and if a gap appears," he said. "Equally, if there is something exceptional available, we will try to do it, but we also have to build for the summer targets as well."  Taken from the Herald |
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