CELTIC’S opening Champions League group game against holders Real Madrid at Parkhead last week was a special occasion for manager Ange Postecoglou, Callum McGregor and his team mates and their tens of thousands of supporters.
Yet, for Paul Lambert, the Scottish champions’ former midfielder and captain who won Europe’s premier club competition with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, their match against Shakhtar Donetsk this week is far more important.
Shakhtar may not have the same trophy-laden history or international reputation as 14-time winners Real and the Ukrainian outfit might not be able to field the same global supporters as the Spanish giants in their side.
However, Lambert believes it is vital Celtic that get a draw or a victory in their second Group F outing in the Wojska Polskiego Stadium in Warsaw on Wednesday night if they are to finish in the top two in their section and progress to the last 16.
“You have got to get results, get something, away from home in the Champions League group stages,” he said at the launch of Mastermind, the new biography of former Celtic manager Wim Jansen, at Parkhead yesterday.
“That is the key. When Borussia Dortmund won the Champions League we only lost to Atletico Madrid at home. We beat them in Madrid and lost to them at home. We picked up a lot of points away from home. We beat Steaua Bucharest and drew with Widzew Lodz. You have to do that.
“If Celtic go to Poland on Wednesday and lose that it is six points they are down already. I think they have to get points away from home. The home games will take care of themselves because of the atmosphere and the way the supporters are here.
“I always thought Donetsk would be a danger because it is in another country and they are an unknown quality. I always thought that would be a dangerous game. Real Madrid was the bells and whistles game. Everybody knows who you are playing against. But Donetsk will be a danger.
“RB Leipzig are hitting a bit of form (the German club beat Borussia Dortmund 3-0 in a Bundesliga game at the Red Bull Stadium on Saturday) with Marco Rose going in there as manager and they will be difficult to play against away as well.
“But that is the main thing Celtic need to do in the Champions League – get something away from home. If they can get something on Wednesday night and take care of the home games here then they have got a chance.”
Celtic lost 3-0 to Real in their opening Group F match last week after conceding second-half goals to Vinicius Jnr, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard – but their former skipper was greatly impressed with how they performed against the defending champions in the first-half.
Postecoglou, who had no experience of European football when he was appointed by the Glasgow club last year, was unable to prevent his side crashing out of the Champions, League Europa League and Conference League in the 2021/22 campaign.
But Lambert, who has spent spells in the dugout at Aston Villa, Ipswich Town, Norwich City and Stoke City since retiring from playing, believes the Greek-Australian has proved he has the wherewithal to do well in continental competition.
“I think Celtic can compete in the Champions League,” he said. “Listen, Celtic can give anyone a game here at Parkhead because of the support they have got.
“You are up against a totally different animal in Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti is the greatest and most successful manager in the Champions League because he has won it so many times. He has been over the course both as a manager and a player.
“Big players and big teams will also thrive on the atmosphere out there. They think: ‘Okay, you can come at us for a while and then we will start to flex our muscles’. That is what happened the other night.
“But Celtic did great. Callum hit the post. If that had gone in it would have given them something to hang on to. They might have got a little shock result. As the game went on, Real started to boss it. You expect it because of the team they are and the players they have got. But Celtic can certainly compete.”
Lambert added: “I think Ange will know Celtic can compete here simply because of the support here. That support will drive you on and on. The support will carry them through.
“But you could see the disappointment in his face after losing 3-0 to Real Madrid. Nobody wants a pat on the back or to be told you did well. You want a result. The disappointment in his face was there for everybody to see – but that is a good thing because you are playing Real Madrid.
“He will know himself that teams will find it hard coming here. Carlo said how difficult it was before the game. This is a really difficult place to get a result. Big, big teams will get result because of the teams they are and the money they have spent.”
Lambert helped Celtic to win a League Cup and Premier League double and stop Rangers from making Scottish football history and completing 10-In-A-Row during the 1997/98 season after being signed in November.
He can see parallels between what Jansen and Postecoglou have achieved and believes the Dutchman and Greek-Australian have similar qualities as coaches.
“I don’t know what Ange like in the dressing room,” he said. “I never saw Wim lose the rag. The only time he had a pop at us was before the St Johnstone game when we were going for the league.
“We were horrific in training on the Thursday. Honestly, we were so bad it wasn’t true and the boys were all arguing. Murdo MacLeod (Celtic assistant manager) stopped the training and said it wasn’t good enough.
“Wim just blew his whistle and told us to go home. We’d only been training for about 20 minutes. We were saying we wanted to train, but he could see we weren’t ready. It was in the showers and up the road. The next day we were absolutely fine.
“I didn’t see him lose the plot once. And it must have been a big come down for him going from working with (Johan) Cruyff and so on to us lot! But he was brilliant.”
Paul Lambert was speaking at the launch of Wim Jansen's book MASTERMIND. Wim was Celtic manager in season 1997/98 and won the League title to stop Rangers from winning 10-in-a-row. Wim passed away in January of this year.
