Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has promised supporters his team will not play for a goalless draw at home to Bordeaux tonight (7.45, Network 2). That would be enough to take the Scottish Premier League leaders into the third round of the UEFA Cup for the first time since 1983.
However, O'Neill conceded that his attack-minded team would not be able to carry out such a negative plan even if they wanted to. "To hold Bordeaux out and play that sort of game is alien to us," said O'Neill yesterday. "We have to win a football match - that's what's in our minds."
Henrik Larsson's penalty was enough to earn a 1-1 first-leg draw at the Stade Lescure, which means the French side must score at least one goal to have a chance of progressing.
O'Neill has a selection problem now that Paul Lambert is out injured and Alan Thompson is cup-tied, having played in the InterToto Cup for Aston Villa. Vidar Riseth is out of the equation as he has gone on loan to 1860 Munich with a view to a permanent switch at the end of the season.
Apart from Lambert and Thompson, O'Neill has a full squad to choose from and Chris Sutton is set to play despite having to miss training sessions with an ankle knock.
