Mowbray hails Celtic spirit

Mowbray: Praises Hoops spirit

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Celtic manager Tony Mowbray has praised his team's spirit after they came back from three goals down to draw with Rapid Vienna.

The Hoops were not at the races for the first 20 minutes on a wintery night in the Austrian capital, and it looked like a damage limitation job after two goals from Nikica Jelavic and a strike from Hamdi Salihi left them on the ropes.

Marc-Antoine Fortune salvaged some hope with an excellent turn and finish in the 24th minute, and he doubled the lead mid-way through the second half before Paul McGowan sealed the comeback in injury time.

Mowbray hailed the battling qualities of his side, although revealed he already knew his players would not give up.

"I didn't learn anything about the players that I didn't know," he said. "The last 80 minutes epitomises our club.

"We needed to react and be positive in adversity and we did just that. We showed what our spirit was all about.

"The players' desire to get back in to the game and really, the Celtic spirit, was there to be seen.

"We kept playing football and creating chances and worked our way back into the game.

"We ultimately got some reward but the players are disappointed that we didn't score a few more goals."

Improvement

Celtic avoided finishing bottom of Group C with the draw, although Mowbray was not entirely happy with the performance.

The Bhoys boss was visibly annoyed on the touchline after seeing his side ship three early goals and he knows his players must start games better in the future.

"The start to the game was down to a combination of things," he added.

"They had some very good players and we played in the wrong areas of the pitch for the first few minutes.

"We should have been more direct but we brought trouble on ourselves and they took advantage of it.

"We talked before the game how we would be positive and obviously the first 10 minutes were not what we wanted but I prefer to talk about the next 80.

"There is nothing in front of us that we need fear. As we move on as a team, develop and grow together, it is something that we would look positively towards.

"Hopefully in the Champions League campaign next year, we can go there without too much trepidation.

"We've showed that we can play football at a European level and we look forward to the challenge of next year.

"But first and foremost we have to carry on with the consistency that we have shown in the last month or so in the league."