League : Scottish Premier League
Early Preview from Soccernet:
Celtic boss Gordon Strachan insists he cannot ask for any more from his players despite their failure to win in three games.
Falkirk visit Parkhead on Tuesday after the Clydesdale Bank Premier League leaders followed a 1-1 draw against Hearts with an identical result against St Mirren.
The game is Celtic's sixth in 18 days and Strachan has seen the likes of Lee Naylor and Artur Boruc added to his lengthy injury list in recent weeks, while other players have been playing with injuries.
And, while admitting they lacked the required quality to beat St Mirren, he refused to be critical of his players.
``We tried to win on Saturday, we had enough chances,'' he said.
``I explained the reasons why we didn't win - a good defensive display by St Mirren and our quality in the last third not being good enough. That can happen.
``The character and work rate, I have not got a problem with that.
``I can only ask them to do certain things. If they try hard enough, if they prepare well enough, if they respect the opposition, that's all you ask for as a manager.
``If their ability is down on the day, then that's up to the manager himself.
``You are talking about a team who beat Shakhtar after losing their left-back and centre-half, who at Tynecastle didn't have a problem until they lost a goal in injury time.
``I have absolutely no question about their commitment.''
The Celtic manager reiterated his desire for a January winter break to allow players to recover from knocks and produce a better standard of football in the closing stages of the season.
He feels his players may be suffering under the strain of their European adventure, the draw with St Mirren coming three days after they flew back from Milan.
And he agreed that he may reshuffle his side to give some players a breather.
``We might do,'' the former Scotland international said.
``I think I heard Arsene Wenger talking about his games that have come up quickly and they are a bit jaded.
``I didn't think there was anything wrong with our energy, it might be the toll of travelling mentally might have been a problem.
``But I don't think so, I put it down to the fact we didn't score the first goal.''
Falkirk manager John Hughes believes his young side are being rewarded for their growing maturity and will not be afraid of attacking Celtic.
The revitalised Bairns head to Glasgow buoyed by back-to-back impressive wins over St Mirren and Dundee United.
Falkirk have netted eight goals in the two victories and are now displaying the kind of free-flowing play which Hughes demands.
The Bairns boss again appears to have developed a talented, hungry side on a limited budget this term despite losing almost an entire team in the summer.
Hughes, himself nursing a heavy cold, said: ``It's a big, big game against Celtic.
``No matter what happens, win, lose or draw, we'll go there and give it a go.
``They are a young team and they know what we're after. So it's up to them to take responsibility on the pitch and it's definitely coming.
``I can see one or two turning into leaders, guys like Darren Barr, Graham Barrett and Kenny Milne.
``You get your rewards definitely for that attitude.
``The players have worked very hard in training and we are now getting the rewards on the pitch.''
Bairns defender Dean Holden feels a united team effort has helped the club turn the corner in recent weeks.
Burdened by the weight of expectation after finishing seventh last term, and having lost Alan Gow to Rangers, Hughes' side made a stuttering start to the new campaign.
But a run of just one defeat in six matches - against Rangers on November 24 - has helped them move to within six points of a top-six place.
Saturday's 3-0 win over Dundee United in wintry conditions alerted the rest of the SPL to Falkirk's rejuvenation.
Holden, the 28-year-old utility player, said: ``We've started to put the ball in the net and started keeping clean sheets too.
``We've been playing free-flowing football going forward, but the whole team has also been working hard to keep a good shape when we haven't got the ball.
``Saturday against United was a little bit different. The gaffer was keen for us to get the ball forward as quickly as we could because of the weather.
``It was one of those games where the team that makes the least mistakes comes out on top and that's how it worked out.
``We're just going out and playing and things seem to have clicked. We're just trying to keep our run going.''
Falkirk visit Parkhead on Tuesday after the Clydesdale Bank Premier League leaders followed a 1-1 draw against Hearts with an identical result against St Mirren.
The game is Celtic's sixth in 18 days and Strachan has seen the likes of Lee Naylor and Artur Boruc added to his lengthy injury list in recent weeks, while other players have been playing with injuries.
And, while admitting they lacked the required quality to beat St Mirren, he refused to be critical of his players.
``We tried to win on Saturday, we had enough chances,'' he said.
``I explained the reasons why we didn't win - a good defensive display by St Mirren and our quality in the last third not being good enough. That can happen.
``The character and work rate, I have not got a problem with that.
``I can only ask them to do certain things. If they try hard enough, if they prepare well enough, if they respect the opposition, that's all you ask for as a manager.
``If their ability is down on the day, then that's up to the manager himself.
``You are talking about a team who beat Shakhtar after losing their left-back and centre-half, who at Tynecastle didn't have a problem until they lost a goal in injury time.
``I have absolutely no question about their commitment.''
The Celtic manager reiterated his desire for a January winter break to allow players to recover from knocks and produce a better standard of football in the closing stages of the season.
He feels his players may be suffering under the strain of their European adventure, the draw with St Mirren coming three days after they flew back from Milan.
And he agreed that he may reshuffle his side to give some players a breather.
``We might do,'' the former Scotland international said.
``I think I heard Arsene Wenger talking about his games that have come up quickly and they are a bit jaded.
``I didn't think there was anything wrong with our energy, it might be the toll of travelling mentally might have been a problem.
``But I don't think so, I put it down to the fact we didn't score the first goal.''
Falkirk manager John Hughes believes his young side are being rewarded for their growing maturity and will not be afraid of attacking Celtic.
The revitalised Bairns head to Glasgow buoyed by back-to-back impressive wins over St Mirren and Dundee United.
Falkirk have netted eight goals in the two victories and are now displaying the kind of free-flowing play which Hughes demands.
The Bairns boss again appears to have developed a talented, hungry side on a limited budget this term despite losing almost an entire team in the summer.
Hughes, himself nursing a heavy cold, said: ``It's a big, big game against Celtic.
``No matter what happens, win, lose or draw, we'll go there and give it a go.
``They are a young team and they know what we're after. So it's up to them to take responsibility on the pitch and it's definitely coming.
``I can see one or two turning into leaders, guys like Darren Barr, Graham Barrett and Kenny Milne.
``You get your rewards definitely for that attitude.
``The players have worked very hard in training and we are now getting the rewards on the pitch.''
Bairns defender Dean Holden feels a united team effort has helped the club turn the corner in recent weeks.
Burdened by the weight of expectation after finishing seventh last term, and having lost Alan Gow to Rangers, Hughes' side made a stuttering start to the new campaign.
But a run of just one defeat in six matches - against Rangers on November 24 - has helped them move to within six points of a top-six place.
Saturday's 3-0 win over Dundee United in wintry conditions alerted the rest of the SPL to Falkirk's rejuvenation.
Holden, the 28-year-old utility player, said: ``We've started to put the ball in the net and started keeping clean sheets too.
``We've been playing free-flowing football going forward, but the whole team has also been working hard to keep a good shape when we haven't got the ball.
``Saturday against United was a little bit different. The gaffer was keen for us to get the ball forward as quickly as we could because of the weather.
``It was one of those games where the team that makes the least mistakes comes out on top and that's how it worked out.
``We're just going out and playing and things seem to have clicked. We're just trying to keep our run going.''
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FREAKTIPS PREVIEW
The formbooks looks great on Falkirk with 1 losses out of the last 6 games they played. In fact Falkirk dominated the last two games they played, hammering both Dundee and St Mirren, albeit both a sitting at bottom half of the Scottish Premier League. Celtic on the other hand had been faltering in the last 2 League games, drawing with Hearts and the latest against lowly St Mirren. Special consideration on Celtic who I believe were distracted by the crucial Champions League game against AC Milan sandwiched between both the league games which they drew.
With qualifying to the 2nd round of the Champions league at stake, I am pretty sure Strachan and his players would have been thinking more of the Milan game then to go for an all out win against Hearts. Within four days from returning from the Milan, they were scheduled to play against St Mirren. Fatigue could have taken its toll on Celtic players after playing that high level game against Kaka and Co.
That aside, I believe the Falkirk is a must win game for Celtic tonite. Rangers are hot on their heels in the league and have a game in hand. Losing or even drawing a game for Celtic is definitely unacceptable for the Manager. If they were to lose this game tonite or even draw, Rangers would most probably take pole position of the league by winning their next game.
Strachan would most probably field his first team players tonite against an "inform" Falkirk, despite Strachan claiming that he would reshuffle his team. Strachan knows how important is tonite's match and the oddsmakers know it too. Why do you think the large handicap given to Celtic?? Most likely the match would clear the Total Goals offered at Tg3 currently.
So my money is on Celtic -1.5 tonite:
The reason why:
1. Falkirk's revival and thrashing of St Mirren as well as Dundee is being blown out of proportions by the media. I believe Falkirk is being over rated by the media.
2. Celtic after qualifying to the 2nd round of the Champions League at the expanse of Shaktar, should have no worries for the time being and should by every right win comfortably against Falkirk.
3. Strachan knows very well that Celtic cannot afford to lose or draw this match, therefore we should see a strong Celtic squad being field tonite.
4. Imtimidation factor, Falkirk has yet to win against the top 2 teams in the League. Their last encounter against Rangers ended up with a 0-3 defeat. I believe Celtic would match that scoreline.
5. My own odds calculation favors Celtic.
The Verdict : (5 STAR BET) CELTIC -1.5
Please skip if AH changes to -1.75, refer to Asianbookie.com for actually AH.
1 comment:
Brilliant Celtic as predicted showed they prowness by thumping Falkirk 4-0. Falkirk's boys were humiliated by the table topper Celtic in a match that resulted in a red card for one of Falkirk's player.
Kudos to Celtic for taking 3 points with a convincing win over Falkirk.
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