Nguemo backs Celtic to win all remaining league games

LANDRY Nguemo believes Celtic are capable of defying both damning statistical evidence and their own defensive frailties by winning all 13 of their remaining fixtures in the SPL title race.

So far this season, Celtic have managed to string together no more than three consecutive league victories at any stage under Tony Mowbray's management. It is a record which must improve dramatically in the closing three months of the campaign if they are to have any realistic prospect of overturning Rangers' current ten-point lead at the top of the table.

But despite Celtic's inconsistency, underlined by last Saturday's extraordinary 4-4 draw against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, midfielder Nguemo insists they can now embark on a sustained winning run.

"We have a good team, of course we can win all of the games we have left," said Nguemo. "We know we cannot afford any more mistakes and that we must win all 13 games in the league. But we can do it.

"The spirit is good here and I'm very happy to play in this team. There is a good atmosphere. Okay, we are ten points behind the leaders and we now have to really fight in order to get to the top.

"After the disappointment at Aberdeen, we all spoke together about what had happened. We spoke in the dressing room and on the bus home and I hope it will help us for the games coming up.

"It was very difficult at Aberdeen, because at 4-2 up so late in the match, we have to win the game. Our goalkeeper should not have had so much to do at Pittodrie. We have been working hard defensively as a team in training this week."

Nguemo, speaking as Celtic launched a partnership with Oxfam aimed at raising awareness of poverty in Africa ahead of this summer's World Cup finals on the continent, says a sense of collective responsibility is required by Mowbray's squad. With injury and suspension ruling Jos Hooiveld, Glenn Loovens and Darren O'Dea out of tomorrow's match against Dundee United at Celtic Park, teenagers Josh Thompson and Thomas Rogne are the only fit central defenders available to the manager.

"Josh is young, but the gaffer trusts him," added Nguemo. "That means he has qualities. He is in the team because he has the ability to play at this level. It's not just a question of the defenders, the team must work hard together not to concede goals. This includes the strikers and the midfielders. In training this week, we must all work together when we are attacking or defending."

Nguemo is on a season-long loan at Celtic from French club Nancy with the deal including an option to make the transfer permanent during the summer. The 24-year-old Cameroon international, however, was noncommittal yesterday when asked about his future.

"I have 13 games to go and then we will see what happens," was Nguemo's only response. He delivered it with a smile which seldom leaves him and there is little doubt he is happy in Scotland. His move to Celtic has also seen his international career flourish, earning a recall to the Cameroon squad under former Rangers manager Paul Le Guen.

Nguemo helped the 'Indomitable Lions' reach the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola last month and is certain to be in Le Guen's squad for the World Cup finals in South Africa where Cameroon have been grouped with Netherlands, Denmark and Japan. "We have a strong team and great players," he said. "We were unfortunate to lose to Egypt in the quarter-finals in Angola, but we can take a lot of positives into the World Cup."

The terrorist attack on the Togo team bus overshadowed the Africa Cup of Nations but Nguemo says the incident did not alter his own sense of perspective when it comes to dealing with the emotions aroused by football. "We were a little afraid when we first went to Angola after the attack on the Togo," he said. "We were frightened when we arrived and had all the lights out on our bus. But the organisers told us the attack took place in an area very far away from us.

"I don't see football differently because of what happened. Tragedy is something like what happened to Togo, of course it is. But for supporters of a big club, losing a game feels almost like a tragedy. It is just the way football is for many supporters. It is a sport which bring happiness to people. For 90 minutes, it lets them forget about their other problems in life or at work. At the end of the season, if his team loses the league, it is almost a tragedy for those supporters."