On Wednesday night, we will take the field at Celtic Park for a game of huge importance, with a makeshift defence. But if the forward line is all present and accounted for, and the midfield protects the backline as only Scott Brown can, it really ought not to matter.
We have the firepower to turn their lights out, and the incentive to do it.
We also have a unified squad, standing four-square behind the manager. Rosenborg, on the other hand, are a team in utter turmoil, having sacked their manager just a week before the game and with the players in open revolt against the decision.
Happiness is in short supply over there, and this is the worst possible time for their club to be at war with itself. Coming into this game in a perfect frame of mind would have been difficult enough for them. To march into it in this state … well, that’s the worst that could have happened. This is not last season’s Celtic team, although it will line up like it.
Defensive uncertainty is what the press is playing up, but this match will be won at the other end of the pitch, with our forward line. Yesterday the manager brought some good news on Dembele; it looks as if our star striker is going to be fit for the game, and that means we’ll have also the full firepower of the team to throw at them. Minus Leigh, of course, who’s definitely not going to play. But we shouldn’t need him. Dembele and Edouard can get it done.
The question is, who should play alongside them, in the wide positions? If we start with McGregor and Forrest that leaves Sinclair out; I, personally, would play Scott and have Callum in the middle, just behind the strikers, in a 3-5-2. That would solve at least part of our defensive dilemma; Ajer, Hendry and Kieran could play centrally when we don’t have the ball, and Kieran can bomb up the left wing, letting Scott cut inside, when we do.
That system means that our ball retention has to be exceptional, because if we lost it up the park it leaves two defenders with an awful lot of ground to cover if Rosenborg hit us on the fast break. The midfield has to be tuned in to that possible danger.
Rosenborg will come and try to keep it tight. It’s up to us to break them down, and because they know that we can get away with being a little more adventurous than we’ll need to be a week down the line. They are a team in turmoil. We have a few decisions to make.
But we’re the home team, the settled team, and we’re playing great attacking football.
I know who my money will be on to go through.