Celtic have found right balance, says Glenn Loovens

Published on Tuesday 15 December 2009 22:22

CELTIC defender Glenn Loovens believes the team have stepped up performances because Tony Mowbray has found the "right balance".

An unchanged Celtic clinched a fourth consecutive victory for the first time under Mowbray when they beat Motherwell 3-2 at Fir Park on Saturday.

Mowbray had also kept an unchanged outfield line-up for the previous Clydesdale Bank Premier League game – an impressive 3-0 victory over Aberdeen – with the fit-again Artur Boruc replacing Lukasz Zaluska in goal.

The Celtic manager only made one change in the previous two games after taking time to find his preferred line-up when he joined the club from West Bromwich Albion in the summer.

Mowbray used 27 players in his first three months in charge and made an average of three changes per game during a difficult ten-match spell – which immediately preceded their winning run – when Celtic won just twice.

Loovens has kept club captain Stephen McManus out of the team during their four-match streak, which has also seen victories against St Mirren and Hapoel Tel Aviv.

The Dutchman, speaking ahead of their meaningless final Europa League contest against Rapid Vienna in Austria tomorrow night, feels the settled team can continue to grow in confidence. "That's four wins in a row and four good performances so the team also looks to have settled now," the Holland international told the Celtic View.

"There aren't as many changes as there were earlier in the season. We've found the right balance and it seems to be working.

"It's understandable that the manager made changes when he came in.

"He was new to the job. That was the first time he had met and worked with most of the lads and he needed to find the right team and the right balance.

"But now I think he has found what he's looking for. We are playing well and hopefully we can keep winning."