Strachan in more sombre mood

Uefa Champions League second qualifying round, second leg: Celtic's manager Gordon Strachan would settle for a pyrrhic victory against Artmedia Bratislava tonight, after his team's season threatened to self-destruct at the weekend before it had even started in earnest.

A bullish Strachan had predicted on Friday his team could overturn the five-goal deficit in the Champions League second qualifying round tie, but his tone seemed considerably more sober yesterday after Saturday's 4-4 draw against Motherwell.

"It's not been a great week," said Strachan, with uncharacteristic understatement. "I took my dad out for a game of golf on Sunday to try and make myself feel better, but I lost that as well. I've never lost nine goals in two games during 32 years in football.

"Winning this game now becomes the most important thing. It's not as if I'm confused just now, and don't know which direction we're meant to be going in, which happened to me at Coventry. I know exactly where we are going, which consoles me."

Strachan must oversee one of the greatest comebacks in the competition's history if Celtic are to make it through to a tie against Partizan Belgrade or the Moldovan champions, Sheriff Tiraspol. A victory, regardless of the outcome of the tie, would not be seen as a disaster by Strachan and would help him protect his team's fragile confidence.

"I'd expect Artmedia to set up with a 4-5-1 formation, so it's up to us to break them down. They aren't a great side, but a good side who had a great night last week. We're a good side, who had a particularly bad night. If we can get 2-0 ahead we have a chance, and if we get to 3-0 then they'll start to worry."

Strachan's defensive options are restricted by injuries to Stanislav Varga and Didier Agathe. New signing Adam Virgo will not begin training until next week, while John Kennedy is at least two months away from fitness.

Celtic seem sure to move for an experienced centre-half in an attempt to resolve the team's defensive frailties. The Chinese international Du Wei (23) is training with the club this week, and would cost around £800,000 from Shanghai Shenhua.

John Hartson, who scored a hat-trick at the weekend, echoed his manager's sentiments while revealing his frustration: "We're trying to stay positive about the whole thing, but it's a massive task."

Artmedia arrived in Glasgow yesterday in cautious mood. Captain Balazs Borbely conceded: "We scored five in the first leg, so Celtic can also score five."

Guardian Service