Celta Vigo boss makes Celtic Park atmosphere admission amid Green Brigade boycott
Celta Vigo manager Claudio Giraldez has described Celtic as a Champions League-level side ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League clash at Parkhead.
The Spaniard was impressed by Martin O’Neill’s side following their emphatic 7-1 victory over Hearts on Sunday, although he insists his players have nothing to fear heading into the encounter.
Both sides are searching for their first points of the Europa League campaign, with Celtic looking to build on their impressive domestic performance after successive European defeats.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Giraldez said: “We don’t fear them but it’s proved it’s a Champions league level team.
“They’ve always played in Europe. We know they have a long past, there are a lot of things that change in their squad with new players coming in.
“We know it will be really hard for us because they had a wonderful game against Hearts and even against Benfica.
“They have a lot of offensive players and can go from the wings. We know they are at the top of their league and it will be difficult. We need to play and defend well and try to threaten them.”
Giraldez also acknowledged the importance of securing a positive result, with Celta equally desperate to kick-start their European campaign.
He continued: “We know it’s a short competition, this league. With eight games we need to gain points as soon as possible starting with three tomorrow.
“In the past two, we fought for it even though we couldn’t win. We need to focus on the mental level and physical level to really fight in such a place.
“We know it’s tough here and the importance here is to try to do even better because we did great the past two games. We need to have a good match on every level and we need to be calm.”
The Celta boss also discussed the prospect of experiencing Celtic Park’s famous European atmosphere, with approximately 3,000 travelling supporters expected in Glasgow.
He said: “I received more requests than usual to come. It shows everyone is really excited to be here and watch the game. Our fans made the effort to come here. We try to work hard to be able to enjoy a game at Celtic Park.
“It’s one of the best known stadiums in the world so we’ll try to do our best and to try to give back to the people who are coming here to support us. Hopefully it will be a special game. I’m pretty sure it will push us.”
However, the Green Brigade’s decision to boycott Celtic’s remaining home Europa League fixtures amid their ongoing dispute with the club’s hierarchy could impact the atmosphere.
Giraldez added: “We knew that it would be a weird atmosphere in the stands, at this moment, but we hope it won’t affect the game.
“These are historic fans and we hope we’ll experience the magical atmosphere of Celtic Park and the game will just be about football.”
Meanwhile, former Celtic defender Carl Starfelt has been ruled out of a return to Parkhead through injury, although Giraldez revealed he has spoken to the Swedish international about his former club.
He explained: “I have a great relationship with Carl. We speak every day. He’s quite an important player in our squad, a high level player and experienced, so it’s a pity he’s not fit and injured. I really hoped he would be able to help us.
“I spoke to him for him to provide us with some information about this stadium. He was here a long time ago but maybe he can give some insight about the team and the way we should approach the game.”
With six established players missing from Celta’s travelling squad, Giraldez also addressed the challenges posed by injuries and a demanding fixture schedule.
He concluded: “We’re not Barcelona or PSG. We’ve seen what happened with the numbers of injuries they had so we should change things with the calendar which is too full for players.
“On the other hand everybody will be important. We trust everybody in the squad. You sometimes need to deal with different situations.”
