Celtic and Rangers are both back in action this afternoon.
Celtic midfielder Scott Brown has told the Daily Record that the club can’t make any excuses as they head to Aberdeen this afternoon.
The Bhoys beat Lazio 2-1 on Thursday night, coming from a goal down to win at Parkhead thanks to strikes from Ryan Christie and Christopher Jullien.
There has been little time for Neil Lennon’s men to celebrate that win though, as Celtic face a difficult trip to Pittodrie to take on Aberdeen today.
The Dons haven’t exactly been impressive this season, but will surely raise their game today, with the travel involved another worrisome factor for Celtic to deal with.
Glasgow to Aberdeen is around 145 miles, meaning Celtic face a lengthy journey just days after their gruelling battle with Lazio.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has actually offered some sympathy to Celtic, suggesting that their trip today is ‘unfair’, and urged the SPFL to do more to help the Scottish clubs in Europe.
Celtic captain Scott Brown was asked about the comments, and suggested that whilst Celtic couldn’t really be going any further away than they are today, it’s just something they have to deal with – and said there will be no excuses from the Bhoys.
Brown admitted that Friday was a day off for Celtic, and today’s game will be all about pressing as he shrugged off Gerrard’s comments – even when showing support for Celtic – to get his teammates focused on the game.
“We could barely be going any further away – but we need to do it. We need to go up and deal with it and make no excuses,” said Brown. “The squad had a day off on Friday to rest and try to recover so that we’re fresh and ready, as domestically the Aberdeen game is huge for us. It’s our bread and butter and we need to make sure we dominate the league. We need to create chances, score goals and maintain our form.”
“It’s all about the pressing and energy of the lads – but we kept going against Lazio until the 94th minute and looked the fitter team. I don’t think there have been many times we’ve said that against top-quality opposition that we looked the fitter team. And we could have played an extra 10 minutes there too – the lads have just got that belief in themselves. The Thursday-Sunday thing, it’s been like that for us for a while. It was the same last season when we were in the Europa League beyond Christmas and you just have to deal with it,” he added.
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