Martin O’Neill carefully negotiated his pre-match media duties in Linz this afternoon ahead of tomorrow evening’s Champions League playoff qualifier against Austrian Champions LASK…
Celtic of course go into the match with a 3-0 advantage but clearly the Celtic manager is taking nothing for granted, just as you would expect. Here’s everything that was said to the travelling mainstream media…
Q: First of all, your squad news, please? There was a situation with Auston Trusty. Did he train this morning? Did he travel?
Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, he’s travelled. It was a bit of an upset stomach. This morning, he just didn’t train, but he’s with us.
Q: Are you hopeful he’ll play?
Martin O’Neill: “Yeah.”
Q: I think you said after the first leg, Alistair Johnston was looking for a scan the following day. Do you have an update in terms of the seriousness of what was going on?
Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, there was definitely something there. I think the prognosis is that it’s sometime in October for him.”
Q: Any other squad news that we should be aware of? Has everyone else travelled?
Martin O’Neill: Â “Everyone else has travelled.”
Q: In light of what you were saying after that first leg, that the tie is far from over, does it pose something of a dilemma in terms of how you approach the game?
Martin O’Neill: Â “Well, hopefully not. I mean, we are playing away from home. I thought the game in the first half was very, very open. We took our chances. There were some really great goals as well too. I expect to be put under pressure quite a lot during the course of it, but we just can’t sit in there. That’s not our intention at all. I feel as if we are capable of scoring a goal in the game. That’s at least grounds for optimism. I think it would be tough old night for us, but we’re here.”
Q: Do you feel like a goal would do it for you if you were able to score?
Martin O’Neill: Â “That I really don’t know. I don’t know at all. But I think we’re capable of scoring.”
Q: Is defence also an area that you feel you need to strengthen before the transfer window closes?
Martin O’Neill: Â “Yeah, I think that we need to have a look. I mean, if you consider that Kieran Tierney is our only left-sided full-back, in that sense, we’ll have a little look. But I really will not be concentrating on anything at all until after the game. Regardless of what the result is, whichever competition we happen to be in, we’ve got some days before the transfer deadline, and I hope that we will get some people in.”
Q: On that front, is there anything to update fans on in terms of transfers?
Martin O’Neill: Â “No, there’s nothing to update on.”
Q: Martin, is strengthening dependent on what happens tomorrow night?
Martin O’Neill: Â “No, I hope that, regardless of the result, and I think that because it’s European football, you’re going to be in it, and I think that now it takes a little bit until the end of January, but it’s the same as last year, and therefore I think that we still need to strengthen.”
Q: After last year, for the players who were involved in Kairat Almaty, does that give an extra impetus to try and go and get Champions League football?
Martin O’Neill: “No, I don’t think that. Well, I think that the players who have had experiences of last season, I think some of those had experiences of the season before that, which was really good. So it’s really a mixed bag. Obviously, we’re going to try and get through. I think anybody who witnessed the game last week realise it’s a tough old game for us, but we’re capable, absolutely. We want to try and get through, and just it’ll be everything to the full, absolutely everything at it, and we’ll do so. I think that if we could qualify, it would give us, you know, it gives you a massive lift in every aspect of it. But, you know, overall, I can’t tell what might happen.”
Q: And what’s your take on, from your perspective, the feeling at the club at the moment? Because the mood seems to have turned pretty quickly from winning the league in the final minutes of last season to four wins out of four at the start of this season. Supporters seem to be happy with the transfer business so far. You’re 90 minutes away from the group stage of the Champions League. It seems to have turned quite quickly. What’s your perspective on that?
Martin O’Neill: “Well, I think that Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran coming in at the time that they did, I think that that gives everyone a lift in the way that they performed. Terrific as well, too. So I think that’s important.”
Q: And just another question about your approach to the game. Is there a temptation to go and try and kill the tie-off?
Martin O’Neill: “Listen, you know, the best laid plans of mice and all that. So, I think that for ourselves, I don’t think that we want to be sitting and I think that we can play. I think we will get opportunities. They will get opportunities to attack and they are a formidable team, there’s no question about it. But we are also, we’re in good form, as you mentioned. The start of the season has been good and we’ll just give absolutely everything we possibly can to try and get through the tie.”
Watch below Martin O’Neill’s Media Conference ahead of the LASK v Celtic Champions League Playoff 2nd Leg tomorrow evening…
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