Champions League playoffs, 1st leg: Celtic v Kairat (Kaz), Wednesday, 8pm – Live RTÉ 2, Premier Sports 1 & TNT Sports 1
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers does not anticipate any last-gasp signings ahead of the Champions League playoffs as he declined to comment on reports linking Jamie Vardy with a move to Parkhead.
Celtic have until 11pm on Tuesday night to make up to two amendments to their European squad before hosting Kairat Almaty in the first leg on Wednesday.
But Rodgers looks like he will need to continue waiting for the new attacking options he has been looking for.
When asked if he now expected to go with the players who are already in the building, Rodgers said: “That’s what I am feeling at this moment in time. The players that we have will be the players that I trust that can do the job.
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“If we can get some players in before then, that would be amazing but the focus has been very much on what is here at this moment.”
Reports on Monday claimed that 38-year-old striker Vardy had his heart set on a move to Celtic Park after leaving Leicester at the end of last season.
“Listen, I would not speak about any individual player,” said Rodgers. “Of course I worked really well with Jamie, he was brilliant for me in my time at Leicester. But there’s been so many names floated about. I wouldn’t disclose either way.”
Celtic skipper Callum McGregor is looking for a controlled display against Kairat to avoid the “chaos” of their previous Champions League playoff against Kazakh opposition.
McGregor was in the team that thrashed Astana 5-0 in the first leg, eight years ago – in Celtic’s most recent Champions League playoff – before seeing their aggregate lead cut to two on the way to a 4-3 defeat in Kazakhstan.
The second leg will take Celtic to a venue 250 miles from the Chinese border and fans will be eager to see their team rack up a healthy lead before they embark on a 7,000-mile round trip.
McGregor said: “Obviously with the first leg being at home, can we maximise that as much as we can? But the most important thing is over the two legs that we do enough to get through.
“Everyone’s reference point will be the last time we played Kazakhstan opposition. You get this feeling where you have to win four or five-nil to give yourself a chance.
“We played really well that night but when we went away, we didn’t play so well.
“The biggest message for us is can we control the tie over two legs so it doesn’t become chaos? If we have a good night in front of goal when we go away, can we be more solid and not give up chances?
“At this level, the fewer amount of chances you give up, the better chance you have of winning a game.
“We don’t necessarily need a big scoreline in the first leg. Of course we want that, we want to be on the front foot, but over the two legs, can we be more controlled and bring our style to the game?”
Celtic have qualified automatically for the Champions League proper for the past three years and reached the knock-out phase last season, where they were minutes away from taking Bayern Munich to extra-time.
McGregor feels that experience can help them in the playoffs but he warned they would have to earn their place.
“Hopefully we can take that into the game as well because we speak about it all the time,” the 32-year-old said.
“The only way to get experience is to actually experience the games and then when you get through them in a positive way it gives you belief, the team grow in confidence, the players understand the game a bit more.
“So when we get to this level, you have to be super concentrated – that’s the only way. Small details make a difference.
“We’ve had a team that have been together now for a wee while, obviously adding players every year, but the core is there that have been through this sort of process now, so can we arrive at the game in full confidence and full belief that the Champions League is where we want to be?
“And then it’s up to us to go and prove that over the two legs we’ve done enough.
“Of course the club want to be here, that’s the top table, we want to play against the best teams, the best players, but again we have to earn the right over the next two games. What we did last season is now in the past.”
