ANDERLECHT star Olivier Deschacht insists the Belgians are more interested in solving domestic problems than beating Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The 36-year-old defender played his part in helping the trouble-hit club come from behind to secure a 2-1 against Waasland-Beveren at the weekend.
But that was only their third victory of the season and the defending champions still sit in seventh place in the Jupiler Pro League.
Swiss manager Rene Weiler has been sacked and former striker Nicolas Frutos has taken over in a caretaker capacity and will be in the dug-out against Brendan Rodgers’ team in midweek.
Deschacht admitted: “We’re not in a good moment and, honestly, the Champions League is now second in our priorities.
“We will play with our best team, but our main goal is to be first in the league again and that is why the Standard Liege game after the Celtic one is more important.
“Of course, we will try to win, but it won’t be a catastrophe if we lose. We still have a good team, but we haven’t been good in the Belgian championship.
“We only have 12 points and we are seventh in the league so our focus and main goal is to get back on track because we want to be champions again.
“We have good players ,but we are not in good shape, if I’m honest. We have lost the confidence of last season.
“Every year we lose two or three important players and it’s difficult when there is no continuity in the squad.
“I honestly think that in 16 years with Anderlecht I’ve never played with the same team two years in a row.
“Listen, if we win against Celtic it would be great and we will try our best, but it would really be a bonus.”
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Enjoy the new podcast…
The CQN Podcast: A Celtic State of Mind (EP13) The Quality Street Gang Part 1
This week, ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ pays tribute to The Quality Street Gang.
In the first of a two-part series, Paul John Dykes interviews Billy Murdoch, Bobby Wraith, HughMcKellar and Lou Macari to discuss one of the finest crops of youngsters ever to emerge from Celtic Park.
Connect with A Celtic State of Mind @PaulDykes and @CQNMagazine.
