Read the headlines today and you’d think last night had plunged us into crisis.
The team we played are a La Liga outfit and a Champions League level side; indeed, they dropped out of that competition and a group which included Manchester United and Juventus. “Not the force they were” is the sort of nonsense I’ve been reading. Ignore it all.
This was no “lesson”; we’ve not learned anything we didn’t know. We’re going to be outclassed by a top team from Spain more often than not. There were a lot of people who were absurdly confident that we could beat this side over two legs. I never thought it likely. That’s why I absolutely refuse to listen to the media’s nonsense over it all.
Some think that our momentum will be interrupted; Brendan spoke about momentum last night but only in the context of how poor passing breaks up the rhythm of our game. The media thinks it will affect us in our domestic form. They are dead wrong.
We head to Kilmarnock on Sunday focused and playing well. There is no reason to let last night’s performance influence our approach to that game.
We no longer have to overly concern ourselves with what happens in Valencia; we’re not going through barring a miracle. Kilmarnock, on the other hand, have a Scottish Cup reply at Ibrox to navigate and they do have to think ahead and may have one eye on the midweek match.
The Sunday kick-off gives them 24 hours less to prepare than their Ibrox counterparts. They have 24 hours less to prepare for midweek than we do too. These are advantages that we have to press as hard as we can. I am certain than we will.
A win at Rugby Park and last night will be forgotten.
The real momentum is the march towards eight in a row and whatever the hacks may tell themselves, this was no misstep as far as that is concerned.
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