Victory in Lisbon will offer redemption, says Burns

THE Celtic squad who left Glasgow for Lisbon yesterday would doubtless find a kindred spirit in the great American humorist, Robert Benchley, among whose observations was the insistence there is only one proper cure for a hangover: death.

It would certainly seem the most direct route to relieving themselves of the pain and nausea that was the residual effect of the 3-0 battering at Ibrox 48 hours earlier.

To those charged with facing Benfica at the Estadio da Luz in the Champions League tomorrow night, however, shuffling off this mortal coil is not an option. Instead, as assistant manager Tommy Burns said, they are obliged to get themselves back in good order and go off in pursuit of redemption.

Helping the cause in no small measure was the appearance of Stephen McManus, the captain and central defender whose prospects of making the trip had appeared non-existent when he was stretchered from the Old Firm match with what appeared a serious head injury. The defender now appears more likely than not to be in his usual place.

The presence of Paul Hartley on the chartered aircraft may have been another encouraging sign, although the midfielder himself was non-committal about his chances of making the line-up, having been absent since sustaining a hamstring strain against Gretna just over two weeks ago.

"I just started running yesterday," said Hartley, "and I felt okay. I'll have to see how things go at training over here, but, at the moment, it's a bit too early to say."

In a very quick check with Gordon Strachan, the manager cautioned that nobody should read too much into the unexpected appearance of a number of players, including striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. "They're all here because they all wanted to come," he said. "I wouldn't rush to see too much significance in the presence of some players."

Burns, however, was more expansive on the matter of the players' need to atone for the slipshod performance against Rangers, keeping the champions at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League only on goal difference. "Of course, it's hard for a couple of days after a match like that and [losing ]in the manner we did," said Burns. "But it's not something you're going to allow to hold you back forever. It's gone now and, if the league finished today, we'd still be champions. We are champions and the players have to use that to take into the higher level of the Champions League.

"We are a big club, this is the level we play at, it's what we do. Old Firm matches are what everyone wants to win and people are hurt when they go wrong. The fans would feel it, as we did ourselves. We're all fans, too, you know. But, rest assured, the manager let the players know afterwards what he felt.

"There's always a reaction to defeats like Saturday's, but these things are always done to extremes with clubs like Celtic and Rangers. It's either excessive praise or over-criticism. We need to get our confidence back up and there's no better way of doing so than by getting a good result in Lisbon."

Planning a confidence-restoring performance is one thing, but, Burns admitted, achieving it is quite another. Celtic's dreadful record of 12 defeats and one draw from the Champions League group matches away from home overshadows every foreign expedition these days. Their latest defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk - the 2-0 scoreline camouflaged a comprehensive beating - in the opening match of the current campaign suggested they remain no nearer than before to improving their figures.

"What happened in Donetsk underlined the kind of test you can face in the Champions League," said Burns. "Our guys felt good about themselves going into that match, but we gave away goals so early that Shakhtar's confidence went through the roof. It showed that you have to give yourself a chance, to stay focused, keep filling in the holes and making sure you don't give much away until you can stabilise.

"But the thing about the Champions League away from home is that there is always a touch of the unknown about what you'll meet. There are quality players, you may be sure, there are ground conditions, referees, a whole host of things which means that you don't really know what you're going to meet until the curtain goes back.

"We know our away record isn't good, but I think you'll find that most teams aren't that great away from home, unless you're talking about the really top dogs. Most teams fancy their chances will come in their home matches. We've been very good in that respect and Benfica will feel the same way about themselves."

Celtic bounced back from the Donetsk disappointment to beat European champions Milan,

but Burns cautioned against getting carried away by victory over the Italians.

"We have to just look at this whole thing as an adventure, not winning sections," he said. "I think that's a bit too much to ask and a bit unrealistic for this football club. It's a question of getting to the Champions League and looking on it as an adventure and obviously trying to learn as we go along."

FINAL FIVE

THE Football Association has confirmed Wembley could host the Champions League final in 2010 or 2011.

The rebuilt stadium has been shortlisted by UEFA alongside four other stadiums, Berlin's Olympiastadion and the Allianz Arena in Munich and in Spain, Madrid's Bernabeu and the Mestalla in Valencia.

A decision is expected in March next year.