Cameron Carter-Vickers reckons the stunning of RB Leipzig is the statement win that proves to the whole world Celtic belong among the Champions League elite.
The American international believes the 3-1 victory over the Bundesliga’s second-placed team was as good a performance as he has seen in his four years with the Hoops. The defender has watched Celtic take some heavy defeats under Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers but he believes this squad has learned from those experiences and has now found its feet in Europe’s premier club competition.
There were questions raised again when Celtic lost 7-1 away to Borussia Dortmund but since then they have drawn away to Atalanta and beaten Leipzig. That is on top of their opening win over Slovan Bratislava, which puts them on seven points from their opening four games and gives them a genuine chance of making the play-off or knockout stages.
Carter-Vickers said: “We’ve been in the Champions League for three years now and throughout that time it’s been a process of learning for us as a club. Now we feel like we’re ready and the belief has grown in the group. We know we can get to that level, and it’s now just about doing that continuously and repeating it. You can always improve.
“That’s what we’re trying to do, but like I said before, the three years we’ve been in this competition now. It’s been a process for us, a learning process and also a process for us to believe as a group of players.
“We’re at the stage now where a lot of us have played enough games now at this level that we know we can perform at it. It’s just about putting that together and giving it our all.”
The 26-year-old knows Celtic have done well in the league phase but is also well aware that nothing has been achieved yet. Brendan Rodgers wants to push for the play-off round but many believe if the champions can reproduce Tuesday’s form then they can automatically go through.
Carter-Vickers claimed: “It’s hard to say. We’ve taken it game by game and I don’t think we’ve got enough points yet to say we’re through this group phase, or whatever you want to call it. For us, it’s just about trying to perform at the highest level. Like we showed against Leipzig, if we do, we can get a result.”
Celtic’s remaining Champions League fixtures see them entertain Club Brugge and Young Boys and go away to Dinamo Zagreb and Aston Villa. The former Tottenham defender is well aware that Celtic Park could hold the key to their hopes and ambitions.
He acknowledged: “Yes, 100 per cent. The fans definitely help. You see it before every Champions League game. The noise was incredible. As players, that gets you going. After they (Leipzig) scored, we probably had to ride out maybe five or ten minutes where we were maybe a bit slow in possession. They were getting a few counter-attacks and stuff like that, but the fans helped us through that. After that, I thought we were great.”
Celtic travel to Kilmarnock this weekend looking for the victory that will keep them clear of chasing Aberdeen. Celtic swatted their rivals ruthlessly away with a six goal hammering in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final but Carter-Vickers claimed the win over Leipzig was even better.
“Obviously last weekend was really good,” the Celtic defender claimed. “But the Leipzig game was probably on a different level. They are a top team – you can tell that from where they’re sitting in the Bundesliga right now (second). For us to put in the performance that we did showed that we can perform at this level. It gives us belief going forward.”
It is night in day from their last outing against German opposition when they felt like they had smashed into a ‘Yellow Wall’ at the start of last month, with their 7-1 hammering.
“The Dortmund game was tough,” CCV stated. “After the game, everyone was disappointed, but when we looked back over it, it showed us that small details can make a massive difference at this level. That night we did get punished, but I think in the last two games, we played our way and showed that if we need to, we can dig in and defend and get a result that way. Tuesday was a combination of that and putting our attacking performance there as well.”
Celtic have looked a lot more assured since CCV has returned from a toe issue. He has also built up what is looking like a formidable central defensive partnership with his fellow US international Auston Trusty. The summer signing from Sheffield United has taken his game to a new level alongside Carter-Vickers. It has given Celtic a solid foundation from which to build.
His fellow defender admitted: “Trusty has been really good since he’s come to the club. I always say a defensive partnership needs time. You need time to learn each other’s habits and stuff like that. But Trusty, since he’s come in, he’s been really good. So has Scalesy (Liam Scales) – this season, both of them have been really great.”