Hoops skipper Scott Brown has called for calm heads and strong minds as Celtic head to Kazakhstan this afternoon.
Brendan Rodgers takes his team to play Astana in the first leg of the UEFA third round Champions League qualifier. Brown was part of the Celtic team who lost 2-0 to Shakhter Karagandy in 2013 on the same pitch that will be used on Wednesday afternoon and he believes that it is imperative that the Parkhead side use all their experience going into the tie.
“If memory serves me right the pitch isn’t the greatest,” he said. “But I also think we made a couple of chances that night too that we didn’t take.
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"We all know how valuable an away goal can be in this tournament and if we can keep our concentration, keep our focus then we can maybe nab something to bring back.
“We have missed out over the last two seasons on the group stages but there are a few of us who know what we are missing. For me, playing for Celtic was always about playing in big European nights and that is where we want to be this season.
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“The away games are always hard. It is about keeping your head, even if you are up against a noisy crowd or whatever. We always know that if we can get a team back to Celtic Park then we can be pretty intimidating ourselves.”
Celtic brought in Kolo Toure over the weekend, with Brown delighted at the arrival of the veteran defender. Rodgers had spoken of his belief that a player of that ilk can help out Brown, with his leadership qualities expected to come to the fore on the pitch.
The Hoops skipper has welcomed the signing – and believes there could be one or two more still to come at the club.
“Kolo is a brilliant addition and I am sure that he will be a big player for us,” he said. “Having someone with that level of experience at the top level can only be an advantage to us, I think. That is what we need.
“We’ve got a lot of pace in the team now and he's definitely going to add to it. He's strong, aggressive in the air and good on the ball - all the qualities we were looking to bring in. It’s good to have someone talking for 90 minutes behind you.
“We’ve had that in the past and he’ll bring that quality to us.
It definitely gives us all a lift having someone of that stature coming into the club. We have the basis of a strong squad here already and there is a good bit of experience it but having players who know what it takes to see games out and get big results can be massive for us.
“And you never know – there might another one or two still to come in.”
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