Moritz insists Celtic need to stay brave to fight back from frustrations in the Champions League.
The Parkhead side are bottom of Group F at the halfway stage having collected just one point from their opening three games. Ange Postecoglou ’s team have performed admirably in spells throughout their 270 minutes so far in the section, but a lack of clinical edge at both ends of the pitch has proved costly.
Celtic shot themselves in the foot in Leipzig as they gifted the hosts an opportunity to go and win after a huge error from Joe Hart. Postecoglou was unhappy at a negative mindset which had crept into the team’s play just prior to Hart’s howler. Jenz admits the squad must answer the demands of the manager to keep being bold and brave enough to do the right things and play their way as they set about trying to recover in the remaining three matches.
The centre-back is adamant Celtic can battle back against Leipzig when they head to Glasgow on Tuesday night in the first of an upcoming home double-header which also sees Shakhtar Donetsk head to Parkhead before the end of the month. Jenz is adamant there’s nothing to fear as said: “Exactly. Of course, we must concentrate first on St Johnstone because that is our next game and that means it is the most important.
“But in terms of the Champions League, then yes. We want to play brave football and be exciting. Definitely. It’s the way we want to play. Sometimes things are going to happen in these moments like they did against Leipzig.
“But you have to have courage to play these passes in these situations. Unfortunately, there was one like that, but we are going to play like in the next game, then the next game and every game like that until the end of the season. That’s how we play.
“You saw in the first half in Leipzig it was very end to end. They had their chances and we had ours. If we maybe had taken one or two of them, then we would maybe have got the leg up in the game and it would have turned out differently. But we have a good chance in the game at home and we have to be brave.”
For Jenz, the evening in Leipzig ended up a bittersweet affair. The defender was born and raised just over an hour’s train trip away from the Red Bull Arena in Berlin.
However, having moved away from his native Germany with his parents when he was still at school and starting out on his footballing path in the Academy at Fulham, this was a first major chance to go back to his homeland. To do so on the biggest stage was clearly a thrill for Jenz with the chance afforded to start due to the injuries to Cameron Carter Vickers and Carl Stafelt which ruled them both out of the game.
Jenz could be called upon again with the American and the Swede not yet confirmed as being ready for the Leipzig return. Problems are mounting up for Postecoglou with skipper Callum McGregor also having to go off injured in Germany.
Jenz insists others need to step up in the absence of key men and explained: “Yes, of course. When you have big players missing who are big personalities in the squad, it is important to step up. This is now a good moment for us to step up as individual players and push the team forward and being strong in our performances as well as being positive.”
It was not the outcome that Jenz wanted, but he added: “For me, it was a nice moment because I have been abroad for a long time. When I was 13, I left the country and it’s been a long time since I was back. It was unfortunate it was not the result in the end that I wanted for myself or that we wanted as a team, but it was a nice touch.”
While Saturday’s clash with St Johnstone in the Premiership takes main focus for the squad now, the Euro adventure remains a big objective. Although Jenz and his backline lost another three goals in Germany to let the game slip, there was also the frustration of not taking chances at the other.
Just as in the opening two matches against Real Madrid and Shakhtar, Postecoglou’s men did not convert their fair share of opportunities created and were given a lesson in ruthless fashion by their opponents. Jenz said: “At the end, it was, of course, not the result that we wanted.
“We were in the game in the first game. It was very end to end and there were chances and big chances. We needed to take them early because then the game may have been a different result.
“But they scored the second goal when we tried to play out and be risky and then they got the third one after that. We just have to move on. We have to think about the next game and keep working hard. We’ll continue at home for the next game against St Johnstone and then be ready for the next Champions League game at home at Celtic Park.”
