'It is a massive club; it’s Celtic' - One player can take crumb of comfort from RB Leipzig loss

There will be at least one person of a Celtic disposition able to recall the club’s elimination from this season’s Champions League with a slither of pride.

Stand in Celtic captain Cameron Carter-Vickers says his team-mates will "keep belieivng" as long as their is a chance of making it in to the Europa League from their Champions League group. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

The 2-0 defeat at home to RB Leipzig may have ensured that, with only one point from four games, Ange Postecoglou could not progress in the competition. Yet, that the Celtic manager has conferred the captaincy on Cameron Carter-Vickers with Callum McGregor sidelined for the rest of the year is not taken lightly by the US international. Understandably, with only a select few to have donned the club’s colours having worn the armband in European club football’s most prestigious domain. “It is an honour,” said the 24-year-old centre-back. “It is a massive club; it is Celtic. To be leading the boys out means a lot to me.”

It woud mean plenty to Carter-Vickers to lead Celtic in a rearguard action across their two remaining Champions League encounters and claim a play-off tie for the knock-out stages of the Europa League. With only one point to the five the Shakhtar Donetsk they require to overhaul currently sit on, that turnaround represents the longest of long shots. To happen, the Ukrainians must be beaten at Celtic Park in just under a fortnight then lose in Warsaw against RB Leipzig as Postecoglou’s men avoid defeat in, eh, the Bernabeau against holders Real Madrid. Alternatively, Celtic would nick third if they were to win their final two games and Dontesk draw with Leipzig. Simple…not.

“We want to go out there and recreate the performances we have produced so far, but obviously try and get the goals,” said the defender. “For large parts of the matches we have played really well and created chances. But we couldn’t take any against Leipzig and at this level if you can’t take your chances then you get punished. But I think we are close, close to picking up results at this level. It is a big learning curve for us and we need to keep working hard. It is just that final little bit that is missing. We have to keep believing as long as it is possible. ”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.