Celtic gauntlet laid down as Braga hit five-year low ahead of Europa League test at Parkhead

Braga head coach Carlos Vicens has slammed his players ahead of their Europa League visit to Celtic on Thursday, claiming they are ‘lacking in desire’ after a five-game winless streak in the Portuguese top flight.

Currently in a disappointing seventh position in the league, a shock 1-0 home defeat to Nacional on Sunday means it has now been 43 days since their last league victory - the team’s worst run in half a decade. A goal from Jesus Ramirez in the sixth minute sealed a surprise victory for the visitors, who were deserved winners at the Municipal Stadium.

Braga manager Carlos Vicens has called on his players to start showing more desire. | AFP via Getty Images

Coming just days after a battling 1-0 win over Feyenoord in their Europa League opener last week, a frustrated Vicens admits his side must improve quickly if they are to achieve their ambitions this season, laying down the gauntlet to his squad ahead of their visit to Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic on Thursday night.

"A very disappointing game,” said Vicens. “We didn't show the face we wanted to see from this team. We came from a match [against Feyenoord] with tremendous levels of intensity, demand, effort, and competitiveness, and we appealed to that in our preparation days. But today, that version of us didn't appear.

“We've gone five games without winning, but the process doesn't stop, because there's a new competition every three days. We have to be capable of giving that version of ourselves [vs Feyenoord] in every game, not just the special ones. We have to be a team that's hard to play against—that has to be part of our identity.”

Set to be without key duo Mario Dorgeles and Paulo Oliveira for the game at Parkhead, the 42-year-old insists his players have to show more fight if they are to turn their season around, and admits they can’t use injuries as an excuse for their poor recent form.

“We went out lacking ambition and fight [vs Nacional], which is the basics of football. When there's a ball, you want to win it and try to win it. We knew Nacional would be tough; they fully deserved to come here and win. But Braga has to offer something different. Braga hasn't been five games without winning in over five years. Is it too heavy? No. We're disappointed, of course; we don't want these results. The number of players we have every week isn't very high, but I don't want to use that as an excuse.

“We have to continue working to improve starting tomorrow [Monday], everyone, including the coach, so we can offer another version of Braga already on Thursday in Glasgow [against Celtic]. And that has to happen in all games, not just the big ones. The strength and will are here; we have to keep working to change this mentality."

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