Scott Sinclair: Celtic won't be spooked by Barca's big names

Neymar cuts a dejected figure during Barcelona's surprise home defeat by Deportivo Alaves. Picture: David Ramos/Getty Images

The Scottish champions fly out to Spain this morning in buoyant mood after their vibrant 5-1 Premiership demolition of Rangers at Celtic Park on Saturday which maintained their 100 per cent winning start to the domestic campaign.

Sinclair, who scored his fifth goal of the season in the Old Firm rout, insists Brendan Rodgers’ side will now be undaunted by the prospect of facing a star-studded Barcelona outfit.

The Spanish champions suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat against Alaves on Saturday night, with leading lights Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta all restricted to substitute appearances ahead of tomorrow’s Group C showdown. All three are expected to be restored to the Barca starting line-up against Celtic who were humbled 6-1 on their last visit to the Nou Camp three years ago, a match which saw Brazilian forward Neymar claim a hat-trick.

Celtic's Scott Sinclair celebrates his goal against Rangers. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

But Sinclair is adamant he and his team-mates will not flinch in the face of the threat posed by some of world football’s greatest players.

“The big names don’t spook players,” said the 27-year-old winger. “It’s a challenge because you are facing the world’s best. As players, you want that test and there is not really much better you can face than Barcelona.

“Each team has 11 players, so all we can do is try to complete our job and see what we can get from the match.

“Our spirit is so high right now and so is the togetherness in the camp. You can see it on the pitch with everyone fighting for each other, every second ball. If we keep that spirit, we can keep winning games.

“The form we are in with wins, it’s great for spirit. We go to the Nou Camp with nothing to lose. No-one is expecting us to win 5-1, but we just go there and do the best that we can do.

“We have got the belief to there and try to perform. The spirit is what we need and all we can do is give it 100 per cent.

“With the Rangers game on our minds, we hadn’t been thinking about Barcelona at all. But when that was finished on Saturday, we started looking towards it and the manager started adjusting and we now go to the next one. The manager will decide how we are going to set up, but it’s going to be a great occasion for us. As I said, we have nothing to lose.”

Iniesta, meanwhile, expects Barca to bounce back quickly. “Against Celtic everything will be different,” he said. “This loss won’t affect us.”