EDINBURGH: Celtic captain Scott Brown has backed his side to produce a remarkable comeback as they bid to claw their way past Legia Warsaw in the Champions League third round qualifier today.
Ronny Deila’s side trail 4-1 from the first leg after a comprehensive defeat in Poland and face a tough task to make it through to the final play-off qualifying stage of Europe’s elite club competition.
But the Scottish champions can draw hope from last season’s 3-0 home win against Shakhter Karagandy, which took them into the group stages after falling 2-0 behind in the first leg, and Brown is backing his teammates to emulate that great escape.
“It’s going to be hard because we need three goals and we need to show them how good we are. But I believe we can do it,” Brown said.
“The Shakhter game last season was huge for us - we scored three goals then and we have to do it again this week.”
Brown will once again be sidelined due to a hamstring injury he sustained in pre-season and in his absence Celtic suffered a heavy defeat in the Polish capital after taking an early lead.
Defender Efe Ambrose was sent off in the first half and the result, defeat in the first competitive game under new Norwegian manager Deila, could have been much worse but for two missed penalties from the hosts.
The return leg will be played at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium as work continues on Celtic Park following its use in the Commonwealth Games.
AFP
