Kasper Schmeichel allowed himself to hurt until midnight in Germany but he insists Celtic should never forget their Borussia Dortmund drubbing.
And rather than bury the memory of their nightmare seven goal Champions League mauling, the great Dane is actually convinced something GOOD might come of it. Schmeichel attempted to put some kind of positive spin on the shocker, even though he knew it was a difficult task in the immediate aftermath.
The keeper’s old man Peter was on media duties at the Signal Iduna Park the other night and the Manchester United legend hung around in the bowels of the famous ground to give his lad a big hug at the end. He looked like he needed it. The Celtic squad could have formed a queue to get a comforting cuddle from the big fella. The embrace seemed to do the trick though and Schmeichel now reckons the Hoops need to keep the Dortmund demolition fresh in their minds – as a lesson on what not to do in the Champions League challenges ahead.
He said: “It’s a case of moving on very fast. The most important thing from a night like that is to learn from it. It can even be a good thing if you do. It’s something to refer to now – remember that night. Remember what happened, because if we are not 100 per cent on it for every single minute, that’s what can happen.
“I’m hoping we can turn it into a positive. That’s our responsibility as the leadership group. That’s life, that’s football. This game has a incredible way of bringing you back down to earth sometimes. But we also have to remember the big picture. We have had a good start to the season. This is obviously a lesson we have to learn from.
“Football is an industry where you can have the highest of highs and the lowest of lows but you have to move on very quickly. Throughout my career I’ve always had a rule where I allow myself to feel how I feel until midnight. That’s whether it’s joy from winning or devastation from losing. But after midnight we move on. Now it’s about Ross County on Sunday.”
That’s fair enough, but there is no way Tuesday night will be swept under the carpet. Celtic made plenty of positive noises going on, giving supporters belief it wouldn’t be the same old sorry story at this level. Yet what they witnessed was another horror show that was up there among the most grizzly suffered on this stage.
The blame game has been in full swing and no one has avoided the post mortem. Boss Brendan Rodgers copped it for his game plan contributing to a third seven goal hammering in his two spells in charge.
Dortmund played through any attempts at a Celtic press and brutally capitalised on the Hoops constantly conceding possession in their own half. They unravelled at a rate of knots but Schmeichel doesn’t believe Celts need to rip up their approach and overhaul their entire style for Europe.
He said: “There’s always a debate. That approach has been very successful for us this season. Sometimes you just come up against an opposition where everything goes their way. Dortmund are a good team. We caught them on their best day but they caught us on our worst day.
“They had one of those nights where everything worked for them. We have had plenty of days like that ourselves this season already. That’s football sometimes. The most important thing is now we take our medicine.
“It’s all well and good when you take the praise like we have been doing this season. We also have to take it on the chin after we get a result like this. For me now, the big thing is the response. How do we respond now? It’s all well and good having a good start to the season, but now we have to feel this one because it hurts, but then move on to Sunday.”
Tuesday was a heck of a reality check for the Denmark keeper after a couple of months when everything seemed to be going his way. Schmeichel had yet to concede a goal in the Premiership this term and was part of a side that had won nine games out of nine before Germany.
The no.1 has been lapping it all up and he won’t let Tuesday’s trauma dent his optimism – or Celtic’s chance of getting to the Champions League knockout stages. Schmeichel said: “I always say, nothing in football is easy. If it was easy then everyone would do it.
“You have to earn absolutely everything in this game. No one is going to give you anything. The other night we had the kind of result that we have dished out a few times already this season.
“It was a tough night but it’s been fantastic since I joined the club. The other night was an isolated incident, the kind of freak result that can happen now and again, but it’s definitely not indicative of this season. Remember, this is the first time we’ve lost this season. It won’t damage the belief. We are two games into an eight game campaign in the Champions League – there is a long way to go.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be at the other end of some of them as well. Sometimes it’s like everything the opposition hits goes in. They get the luck or the rub of the green to get a result like that. It’s not one of those results that’s indicative of us as a team. We’ve had a very good start to the season and have to remember that.”
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