‘DIFFERENT CLASS CELTIC WILL WIN.’ McCALL

FORMER Motherwell boss Stuart McCall was shattered by Stjarnan last year – but he’s sure that ‘different class’ Celtic won’t suffer the same fate.
The Icelandic minnows held his Well side to a 2-2 draw at Fir Park and then beat them 3-2 after extra-time in the return to knock them out of the Europa League.

However, McCall reckons that was a freak result and, while he believes that they have players who could threaten the Hoops over the two legs, he
 expects Ronny Deila’s men to ease into the next round.

Gordon Strachan’s Scotland coach said: “For a start, I don’t believe they are as strong as they were last year and that’s good news for Celtic.
“The big advantage they have is that their season has already started and this will be their 12th competitive game while it’s Celtic’s first.

“However, they’re not doing too well at the moment – they’re sixth in their league after winning it last time out – and their confidence might not be too high. Also, while they’re quite capable from midfield to front, they’re not too great at the back and that should help Ronny’s side.

“Then again, they didn’t concede at all when they beat a much stronger Lech Poznan side in the next round last year, so you never know. That shows that they have a bit of resolve.

“Celtic will want to have this tie put to bed in Glasgow and they should be able to do that. I reckon that if they can get an early goal then the floodgates will open.

“The last thing they want is to go back to their place with the outcome still in the balance. Their Samsungvollur stadium is tiny, with a capacity of just 1,000, and they have an old Astroturf pitch which is quite dead.

“With no disrespect to Stjarnan, though, Celtic are in a different class and they should put quite a few goals past them.”