Strachan looks for Milan response

By Aidan Begley

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan praised his young players but asked them to have more belief after their 0-0 draw with AC Milan in the Champions League.
A score-draw at the San Siro would see Celtic through to the quarter finals and would be a monumental achievement for the Bhoys after a solid display in the first leg at Parkhead last month.
The game was high on passion, but low on clear cut oppor-tunities, but with the recent problems of football violence in Italy, the San Siro will only have a crowd of around 40,000, with almost 5,000 of them Celtic fans.
So a half empty stadium, passionate support from their own fans? Will Celtic achieve the unbelievable? Strachan believes that if the hoops can go to Milan and score first in the game, then AC would have to come out of their shells to try and get the victory.
“I must congratulate them on their determination not to concede a goal, but we have to play better technically. If the spirit is the same and we take the technique up, I believe we can give them a scare in the second leg. They would then have to score two, but we have to believe in ourselves more.
“We’re still in the tie, which is the main thing. If we had been going to Italy two or three down, then it would’ve been an empty experience, but the fact we’re going there still in with a chance is the main thing.
“It’ll be a great experience for the players to be able to play in the San Siro, and half empty or not, it’s still a fantastic and daunting place to play at the same time.”
Strachan continued: “AC Milan are a fantastic side and they are a good barometer of where you want to go as a football club. We're miles away as a football club, but big hearts kept us in it. It was tough, it was a great experience and it’s something that we can take on board and use to our advantage.
“If you look at our back four compared to their back four - 20-year-old, 20-year-old, 24, 26 - that's a group which has never played before in a Champions League game and they didn't let in any goals. We had a few scares but I don't know if the goalie had a real save to make.”
Artur Boruc kept out a couple of goalbound shots from Alberto Gilardino, while Strachan admitted that Celtic "never really tested the goal at any time whatsoever".
“The good thing is that we have players who can create a bit of brilliance that we need to score in Italy. Our younger players such as my midfielders Aiden McGeady and Evander Sno and defender Darren O'Dea played fantastic today and I’m sure that they can’t wait for the second leg.”
Former Celtic captain Tommy Boyd sounded a note of caution ahead of the return tie in Italy saying that in his eyes Milan were the favourites to go through, but believed his old club could cause an upset.
“It'll be backs to the wall. If Celtic get a chance they'll need to take it because you've seen the quality of Milan in possession. You-ng Darren O'Dea came in and did exceptionally well - and the key thing was they didn't concede a goal, and that was vitally important to give themselves a chance.
“They weren’t really tested in the first leg so when it comes to playing in Italy in front of a passionate Milan crowd, it’ll be a completely different experience for them. Can they do it? I’m hoping that they can. If they do, it’ll make them legends at Parkhead.”
Having made an impression in the first leg, Darren O'Dea said he enjoyed his first start in the Champions League and was looking forward to the return game.
“It was super. These are the players you want to be playing against. They are the top players in the world and it's an honour to be playing against them. It's exciting and it can also be worrying - but we kept them quiet and we're delighted about that.”
Following the AC Milan game, Celtic booked their place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals with a tie against St. Johnstone after a dramatic last gasp victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
The league and cup double quest looked in doubt against the team which dramatically dumped Celtic out of the trophy seven years ago. Afterwards, Gordon Strachan admitted he was becoming concerned before two late goals gave Celtic a 2-1 victory over Inverness in their Scottish Cup quarter-final.
“I had to make changes near the end, some of them desperate. But desperate times call for desperate measures. With five minutes to go, and after the equaliser, I was happy to settle for the draw and a replay. But the players said no and I'm just glad they are on my side.”
Indeed, Strachan was pleased with his side's play, despite leaving it late to claim a semi-final place.
“That's the best we've played up here in my time in terms of making sure Inverness didn't get many chances. We never made many chances ourselves, but our passing and movement was good, although our free-kicks were poor.
“But the work we put in during the first half of the game allowed us to score late in the game because they had tired.”
The equaliser came from former Hearts defender Steven Pressley, for whom it was a first goal for his new club.
“Fantastic,” he said. “That sums us up as a team. We show terrific spirit and a never-say-die attitude. At this club, we don't believe in losing football matches. I thought we played some terrific football but just couldn't carve out the all-important equaliser.
“Normally teams would settle for a draw after being behind for 88 minutes - we didn't. We went for the winner and Kenny mustered up a fantastic finish and thoroughly deserved goal for his all-round contribution.”
It looks like it’s going to be an exciting last few months of the season for Celtic who are currently challenging in three competitions. They’ve got a fantastic chance of securing the league and cup, but whether they can get any further in the Champions League remains to be seen.
They are going to need to spirit of the Lisbon Lions to get them through their tie in Milan, but if anyone can, Celtic can.