No room for error as Celtic seek progress past Utrecht

AS disappointing and costly as Celtic's Champions League elimination at the hands of Braga was earlier this month, Neil Lennon's incipient side did at least fall at the hands of opposition who were seeded above them by Uefa.

• Emilio Izaguirre trained with Celtic yesterday but will not feature tonight against Utrecht in the Europa League play-off tie. Manager Neil Lennon is likely to employ a 4-3-3 formation but Izaguirre could make his debut against St Mirren Picture: SNS

There will be no such mitigation for the Celtic manager if he suffers a second European exit in short order against Utrecht. The middle-order Dutch outfit, competing in continental club competition for the first time in six years, are the outsiders and unseeded team for the Europa League play-off round tie.

In a week when their annual accounts highlighted the financial importance of sustained European football to Celtic, Lennon is aware that reaching the group stage of the secondary tournament is imperative. While respectful of Utrecht, who defeated Swiss side Lucerne 4-1 on aggregate in the previous round, he is bullish about his team's prospects of establishing their authority on the tie in tonight's first leg at Celtic Park. Lennon believes he has identified a weakness in the side who finished seventh in the Dutch Eredivisie last season, one which his players can take advantage of this evening.

"We don't think there is a lot of pace in their team, so we think we can hurt them in areas going forward," said Lennon. "They are a good team, but they are beatable.

"The onus is on us. We have to take the game to them and take some sort of lead over there next week. An early goal would be nice."

While Lennon hopes his side will spend most of the match on the front foot, he is wary of the threat posed by Utrecht on the counter attack. He has been especially impressed by their highly regarded Belgian winger Dries Mertens. "They have some good individual players," added Lennon. "Mertens is probably their best player. He's a bit like Shaun Maloney, he can either play on the left hand side and come in on his right foot or he can play in behind the front men. He's the one to watch for me. They will probably play with two sitting midfielders and they play quite deep."

Asked if Utrecht are a better or worse side than Braga, Lennon resisted the temptation to make any observation which could come back to haunt him. "I wouldn't like to make that comparison," he replied. "I could end up with egg on my face. These two games are very important for me. The group stage of the Europa League is the minimum we need at Celtic.

"I want a good run in Europe this season and I want to challenge on all fronts domestically as well. I think the signings we have made so far have improved the quality of the squad and given us the opportunity to do that. I saw a good performance from us at Inverness on Saturday. I saw a fluency in our attacking play that I hadn't seen for a while. It's only one game, I'm not getting over-excited about it, but the signs are very positive."

Daniel Majstorovic, the Swedish international defender signed on a free transfer from AEK Athens this week, will make his debut for Celtic tonight as a replacement for the suspended Jos Hooiveld. Even if the Dutchman had been available, however, Majstorovic would have been a likely starter. Lennon is thrilled by the capture of the 33-year-old, believing he will give Celtic a solidity at the back they have lacked for some time.

"I'm really pleased to have him," said Lennon. "He's looked pretty impressive in training. He went through the medical without a blemish and his injury record is pretty good in recent years. He's what we wanted, he has experience and a bit of presence about him.

"Johan Mjallby knew him very well. It was a good opportunity for us to bring in a bit of quality at centre half. His age doesn't bother me. He looks a decent physical specimen and has plenty left in him.

"We took advantage of AEK's financial situation, I suppose, getting him on a Bosman. He's got a two-year contract and if he does well I'd hope it will be extended.

"I wouldn't compare him to Sol Campbell, who we tried to sign earlier on. They are different types of players, but Daniel is in that category in terms of leadership. I don't think we've had a presence like him at the back for a couple of years." Paddy McCourt has recovered from the bizarre whiplash injury he sustained in colliding with team-mate Shaun Maloney as he celebrated his goal at Inverness, but the Northern Ireland winger may have to settle for a place on the bench with Mexican midfielder Efrain Juarez likely to return to the starting line-up.

New signing Emilio Izaguirre, the Honuras left back, trained with his new team-mates yesterday after agreeing to move from Motagua in his homeland.

However, the 24-year-old will not be available for tonight night's match. Majstorovic has taken the one available late spot in Celtic's Europa League squad, but Lennon may play Izaguirre when Celtic host St Mirren in the SPL on Sunday.