Under-fire Celtic manager Tony Mowbray calls for unity from players and supporters ahead of key games

Published on Wednesday 25 November 2009 22:44

TONY Mowbray has urged everyone at Celtic to "stick together" as the club aim to get their spluttering season back on track.

Mowbray has come under pressure after overseeing just two wins in ten games, a run which has seen Celtic surrender top spot in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and move to the brink of crashing out of the Europa League.

The manager believes the next week and a half could be a key spell in his side's season, starting on Saturday with the visit of St Mirren.

He said: "The very nature of football is that players and managers are going to suffer setbacks frustrations and defeats. You have got to put it behind you and get back on the training ground. There is always another big game around the corner, and that's the case with us.

"We have three home games coming up in the space of eight days, against St Mirren, Hapoel Tel-Aviv (on Wednesday] and Aberdeen (the following weekend]. And we have to try to win them all. That's always the target at Celtic, winning matches. We have not done that consistently enough this season, but we will keep working together to find that level of consistency. I am sure we will read a lot this week about the opposition trying to feed off any anxiety over our results. The message has to be that we have to all stick together. Hopefully, we can get a result against St Mirren and then build on that."

Celtic let slip a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 at Dundee United on Sunday, the latest in a series of dropped points from a winning position since Mowbray took charge in the summer.

Midfielder Marc Crosas said: "That type of game has happened a lot this season. We've played well in a lot of matches, but haven't killed teams off.

"We seem to do the most difficult thing by scoring the first goal, but maybe we have to push on a bit more and score the second goal or kill the game by keeping the ball better.

"Against Dundee United, we lost and I think most people who watched will say we deserved better. Maybe we need more luck – I don't know."

Mowbray is hopeful of welcoming back midfield duo Zheng Zhi and Paddy McCourt against St Mirren. Both missed Sunday's trip to Tannadice, Zheng through illness, and McCourt with a minor knock.

Celtic will again be missing Scott Brown, amid reports he has been to visit a specialist in Amsterdam over his troublesome ankle injury. Shaun Maloney is also out, while goalkeeper Artur Boruc will not be risked.

Mowbray said: "It will probably be a bit too soon for Scott, Artur and Shaun. Of the three, Artur is not too far away but we'll see how he is. Zheng should be okay for Saturday. Paddy had picked up a slight knock as well, but we expect him to be fine, but we'll know more as the week progresses."

Crosas has now started four out of Celtic's last five matches and the Spanish midfielder is happy to be playing a central role in Mowbray's plans.

"I always want to play and I'm happy to be in the team," he told Celtic View. "The manager is giving me confidence and games, which always makes you feel better. It's always hard to come back in after a spell on the bench, but I feel stronger with every game I play. Of course, results matter more than how I play, but I'm just glad to be out there on pitch.

"The manager hasn't asked me to do anything differently. He knows my characteristics and just asks me to keep the ball and move it quickly. I know myself I have to improve certain areas, but that's always the case."

In those four recent appearances, Mowbray has teamed Crosas up with Landry N'Guemo and the Catalan midfielder seems to get the best out of his Cameroon team-mate. However, Crosas is happy to partner anyone in the Hoops midfield.

He said: "I feel I have a good partnership with Landry, but I like playing beside Barry Robson as well, while last season I was always beside Scott Brown in midfield. It doesn't bother me who I play with. I just want to be in the team, but I do think myself and Landry are doing well. We have been given a few games together, but there is a lot of competition for places."

Last season Celtic thumped St Mirren 7-0 at Parkhead, but then were eliminated from the Scottish Cup by the Buddies the week after, and Crosas is taking nothing for granted on Saturday.

"You can never tell with football," said Crosas. "People expect us to win, but it won't be easy. We have to give the type of performance we did against Dundee United – but we have to win this time."