ian1964 10,419 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 CELTIC stand-in skipper Beram Kayal believes the Parkhead club are ready to leave their early season woes firmly behind them by going on to win the domestic treble and vindicate his assertion that they are superior to Rangers. The Israeli international midfielder was in bullish mood ahead of tonightâ??s pivotal Europa League Group I fixture against Atletico Madrid at Celtic Park, which he and his team-mates approach on the back of a five-match winning run that has re-energised their campaign. Kayalâ??s comments underlined the fresh confidence in the Celtic squad following the sequence of victories which has put them in contention to reach the last 32 of the Europa League and also seen Rangersâ?? lead over them at the top of the SPL table slashed from 12 to four points. In a thinly-veiled swipe at their Old Firm rivals, Kayal also insisted Celtic were the most accomplished team in Scotland last season, despite missing out on the championship to the Ibrox men by a point. The 23-year-old is hugely optimistic that there will be no repeat of that disappointment this time around, revealing that Neil Lennonâ??s men have their sights firmly fixed on a clean sweep of the domestic trophies as well as an extended run in the Europa League. â??Last season we played the best football in the country and we showed that to everyone,â? said Kayal. â??It has taken time to come together this season, but the gaffer is now doing that very well. We looked to win the league last season but didnâ??t do it. I hope this season everyone can do their best to win everything in this country and do well in Europe. For this moment, we are coming back to the right way. â??I am sure we can play the best football again this season, because we have the best squad and the best players in this country. We havenâ??t played like we did last season, but we are now getting there. â??We have power in the team and the confidence has come back for everyone. This is a good moment to start playing well for the rest of the season. Over the last month, everything has come together. Everyone has worked hard and tried to do the maximum. Everyone feels much better, but we need to continue, not just to do it for one month. At the start of the season, we drew and lost a lot of games. At Celtic you need to win every game.â? Celtic are two points behind Atletico Madrid and Udinese in their Europa League group, with bottom-placed Rennes a further three points adrift. Victory tonight appears imperative if Celtic are to go into their final fixture, away to Udinese on 15 December, with the knockout stage within their grasp. â??I think we need four points from the last two games to qualify,â? added Kayal. â??But this is a good moment for the team. We have played well in the last five or six games and we need to continue that in Europe as well as the league. â??Atletico are a big club and a good team and we need to continue with our good run to beat them. We played well in our last European game here against Rennes, when we beat them 3-1, and we need to do the same job in this one. When we play at Celtic Park the fans give everybody energy and power. We know Atletico are a big team in Europe with a lot of world-class players, but we want to beat them to have a chance of continuing in Europe this season. â??When we lost 2-0 to Atletico in Madrid back in September at the start of the group, a lot of our players were experiencing European football for the first time. Now we have a stronger mentality.â? Kayal is preparing to hand the captainâ??s armband back to Scott Brown soon with the Scotland midfielder now back in full training following his recovery from ankle surgery. Brownâ??s long-term future at Celtic remains uncertain. His current contract expires at the end of this season and no agreement has yet been reached on a new deal. â??Scott is the captain of the team and is an important player,â? said Kayal. â??If he comes back into the team, he will give us more energy and help us to play well. He is a big player, a good man and a good friend but I donâ??t want to speak about his contract. I donâ??t know what the future will bring.â? Brown is unlikely to be pressed into action tonight with his return more likely to come against Dundee United at Tannadice on Sunday. Celtic have no fresh injury concerns for tonight, with defender Kelvin Wilson available for selection for the first time since September. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spl/celtic_have_the_best_players_in_scotland_says_bullish_beram_kayal_1_1988621 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilledbear 16 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 They are building momentum, which brings confidence, no matter that they have had a lotta luck, we are now only 4 points in front. Tomorrow is a big game for them, and perhaps us as well. A win against the likes of AM will give another boost to their confidence. While we seem to be in a rut, and our key players are either injured or have gone stale. A good win could give us a spring in our step again, but there are only 3 weeks until the 28th. This is where Ally needs to show his credentials as a Manager, probably for the first time. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darthter 542 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Kayal's comments made me smile..... This is the same team that their own manager was getting ripped into only a few weeks ago. Now, all of a sudden, they are world beaters!!! Could be an interesting match tonight!!! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest superrcooper7 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I hope this is pinned in the dressing room and brings about a positive turn in the players. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,251 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Younger, faster, better ... we've heard it all before. Cheers. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza_8 233 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Younger, faster, better ... we've heard it all before. Cheers. Was going to post that too. Can't remember who said it though. Was it Commons or Kanye West? Players should learn to keep their traps shut. There's only so many times players can say this and actually believe it before they think to themselves it might not be true. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Was going to post that too. Can't remember who said it though. Was it Commons or Kanye West? Players should learn to keep their traps shut. There's only so many times players can say this and actually believe it before they think to themselves it might not be true. It was Commons that said it Gav. To be fair, the way things are going RECENTLY, they are confident and makes it easier for them to spout this type of stuff. However, they should also learn some humility because they are STILL 4 points adrift at the top of the table. Thankfully for us, it is usually the Celtic players that spout this stuff and it invariably spurs us onto yet another league title. Here's hoping the same happens this season. It could be that we have deliberately dropped points to keep Lennon in a job, wouldnt want them getting somebody decent in. Yes, that was a JOKE. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 They never learn do they one good game against St Midden and their Barca again. Come ahead Bhoys we welcome the chase. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dutchy Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 They win what, 4 or 5 games in a row and suddenly they're champions. Confidence is indeed important and I would say it with them at the moment, but the bottom line is, we've all heard this before ans so one day it will come true. Lets make sure it's not this year, which is vitally important, more imprtant than other yers as the winners go straight into the group stage. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
laudrup11 0 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 We have hit a sticky patch just now but I'd bet we'd all have accepted a 4 point lead at this stage of season if offered it at start of season ? The Bheasts from east are confident just now after winning a few games in a row but apart from against St Mirren they have been far from convincing in any of the games and imo had it not been for Red Card in Inverness they'd have dropped more points that day. I'm hoping they get taught a lesson tonight and that Utd will give them a game of it at Tannadice on Sunday. My main concern is us though just now we look like a team lacking Ideas and we need a spark from somewhere hopefully we will get an early goal and confidence building win against Dunfermline on Saturday. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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