Hartson: visitors scared of Celtic cauldron

Group A of the great tournament still offers enough mathematical permutations to satisfy any footballing statto, but it also now provides Martin O’Neill’s team with a clear view of their own destiny.

If it sounds overly simple to state that Celtic will almost certainly reach the knock out phase of the competition with a home win against Bayern Munich on matchday five, it is nonetheless an undeniably attainable objective for the Premierleague leaders.

Their extraordinary prowess in front of their own supporters, who create an environment which has few equals throughout European football, ensures Celtic will approach the 25 November visit of the German champions with justifiable confidence.

Wednesday’s enthralling 3-1 victory over Anderlecht, their fifth consecutive Champions League success in the east end of Glasgow, once more underlined that Parkhead has become one of the most forbidding venues anywhere for travelling teams of any standard.

If Celtic could only find a way, as O’Neill mused earlier this week, of grinding out results on foreign soil, where they have so far failed to collect even one Champions League point, they would become one of the most effective participants in the tournament.

For now, however, the focus is solely on the match against a Bayern Munich side badly shaken by their home defeat at the hands of group leaders Lyon on Wednesday and who are now in danger of failing to reach the second phase of the competition for the second successive year. If Celtic can avenge the unfortunate 2-1 loss they suffered in the Olympic Stadium at the start of this campaign, and Lyon avoid defeat against Anderlecht in Brussels on the same night, then a Scottish club will progress from the group stage for the first time.

John Hartson, whose outstanding contribution to the win over Anderlecht signalled his return to his most effective form, believes Celtic’s unbeaten record at Parkhead, which now stretches to over two years and 62 matches, is only now beginning to receive the acclaim it deserves.

"We have shown once again what we can do at home," said Hartson. "We have had some great spells, some great nights and some tremendous victories over top sides at Celtic Park. You can see the fear factor creeping into teams when they come here.

"Straight away, they look around and think ‘Jesus, what are we into here?’. It’s all down to this group of players and we have earned the respect of other teams.

"The players have created this intense cauldron for visiting teams and people in England are still ignorant of our achievements at Parkhead. They don’t realise how difficult it is when teams sit back and put the onus on us to break them down. That’s what most SPL teams do here.

"But people should get out the list of teams who have lost here, quality sides like Juventus, Valencia and Porto, because it’s a list which is more than a bit impressive.

"We will need another performance like those to beat Bayern and give ourselves a really good chance of getting through to the next phase.

"Everybody said before the game that they wanted Bayern to beat Lyon and run away with the group. But, with the benefit of hindsight, Lyon’s win might be the best thing that could have happened.

"If we win against Bayern, and Anderlecht don’t beat Lyon, then it will mean the last game is irrelevant. It’s set up for another great night in three weeks’ time.

"Anderlecht are a great side but Bayern are another level above that. "But if we perform the way we did on Wednesday night, and our special crowd get behind us again, anything can happen.

"We played well in Germany and felt that we were unlucky to lose. Bayern are full of internationals, world class guys like Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn, but hopefully we can put in another performance like we did against Anderlecht."

Anderlecht are seriously weakened for their next match by the suspension of their most dangerous striker, Dindane Aruna.

The Ivory Coast player, who scored in both matches against Celtic, collected his second booking of the competition on Wednesday and Anderlecht coach Hugo Broos was forced to admit that he will be difficult to replace.

Lyon’s recent form has only served to underscore just how impressive Celtic’s 2-0 win over the French champions on matchday two was and Paul Le Guen’s team will travel to Brussels in three weeks convinced of their ability to claim a win which would guarantee their qualification.

While O’Neill was properly wary of taking anything for granted in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday night’s results, in the knowledge that a wounded Bayern side will be nothing less than formidable at Parkhead, the Celtic manager will nonetheless sense a marvellous opportunity has presented itself for his team.

The emergence of the hugely gifted Liam Miller, whose second Champions League goal on Wednesday capped perhaps his finest performance yet in a Celtic jersey, has added flair and creativity to a collection of players whose collective will and power seldom fails to impress. Celtic may just have discovered the blend required to make another little piece of history by claiming a place in the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League.

ARUNA ANGRY AT 'VIOLENT PLAY'

ANDERLECHT forward Dindane Aruna has described the Celtic defenders as "dangerous fools" and says he was lucky to escape from Parkhead on Wednesday night without serious injury.

"Celtic were faster, but they were also far more aggressive. I am happy that I didn’t end up with a broken leg," said Aruna, who scored the Belgians’ only goal.

"I have never seen such violence from defenders. Those dangerous fools got away with hip-high tackles and I was even punched in the face. I am glad I kept my physical integrity in Glasgow."