Confident Brugge star Ardon Jashari has warned Celtic they are not scared and intend to storm their fortress and secure three points – as Simon Mignoloet appears a point shy as he plots a path to the playoffs.
The Hoops welcome the Belgian side, who stunned previous Champions League leaders Aston Villa at home thanks to a bizarre penalty conceded when Tyrone Mings picked the ball up in his own box. They now travel to face the Hoops later this month who of course made Europe sit up and take notice with a hugely impressive 3-1 win over RB Leipzig this week.
Celtic are now in 15th spot and Club Brugge are in 22nd place with both still having aspirations of reaching the top eight which would hand them automatic qualification to the next round. And Swiss international Jashari insists there’s no reason why they can’t go to Glasgow and get another win. He said: “I think we have to be well prepared against Celtic because they are strong at home. But we can win there too. When we play like that, we can beat anyone. After four games we have won two and in the two games we lost against Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan, we played well too. So this victory against Aston Villa was not unexpected to us players. It was an incredible night. We knew something special could happen. There was something in the air.
“We know that Aston Villa are a top club who were the unbeaten leaders of the Champions League table so we knew it would be tough. Everyone had to be 100 per cent ready and that was the case. And we will have to do the same against Celtic.” And former Liverpool keeper Mignolet insisted their win against Villa was no shock has he got the calculator out.. He pointed out: “For me, it was not unexpected, because in other matches we had already shown that we can hold our own. “We were the better team with chances, but we didn’t score. Luckily we got that goal on a plate. Apparently, eight points could be enough to guarantee a play-off position so a win at Celtic would take us through that. But that’s a long way away. It’s a feather in the cap for this club that we already have six points.”
Meanwhile, Celtic loanee Gustaf Lagerbielke admits he’s frustrated after failing to start a single league game for Twente Enschede so far. The Swedish stopper was shipped out on loan earlier this season after starting just four league games for the Hoops since his £3 million move from Elfsborg last year. But he’s yet to start a game in the Eredivisie for Twente since his move.
However, he came on as a sub in their last game for injured defender Mees Hilgers and could now be set for a chance to impress.
Lagerbielke said: “Of course I have been frustrated because I want to play for Twente since my loan move from Celtic. But I have had to accept, the team are playing well and the guys in my position have been excellent. Waiting for your chance is the hardest thing as a footballer, but that’s how it works. When the chance comes, I have to be ready. So it was good to get on and play the second half against Willem II. It was a battle and it felt like a Scottish League match at the end because it was tough.
“I’m a defender who likes to play football, but also I don’t shy away from a fight. Sometimes you have to play dirty to get that clean sheet and we managed that. I am enjoying it here and learning Dutch, but it seems like a mix of ten languages at once. It’s the first time I’ve been in a country where I don’t understand the language.”