Celtic assistant Chris Davies insists nobody is underestimating Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Sunday 21 August 2016 14:12, UK
Celtic assistant manager Chris Davies insists everyone at the club has a positive attitude ahead of Tuesday's Champions League tie with Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
The Hoops departed for Israel on Sunday looking to defend their 5-2 lead from the first leg in Glasgow last week.
Celtic prepared for the return match with a 4-2 victory at McDiarmid Park against St Johnstone in Saturday's Scottish Premiership encounter.
Boss Brendan Rodgers played a strong team in Perth to keep momentum going and Davies, speaking at Glasgow Airport, stressed that Celtic will adopt the same approach which helped them negotiate second-leg ties with Lincoln Red Imps and FC Astana in the qualifiers.
Davies said: "There will be no issues of complacency with us. We have been very clear with the message with the players. The players are very focused, you can see the focus is there.
"Yesterday we had an opportunity where we could possibly have rotated some players but we didn't, we chose to keep them in, win the game and keep the winning mentality.
"And from what we have seen from the players led by Scott Brown the captain, who is a real colossal figure for the team, there will be no issues of complacency with us, we know what we have to do.
"It is about being in control defensively but having an attacking threat, which we have shown we have got in all the games.
"The mentality in our approach is that it is half-time, just as we said when we came back from some difficult first legs and took the teams back to Celtic Park.
"That's what it is, we are 5-2 up but it is half-time.
"We have to perform with and without the ball, defensively have control, offensively have a threat and hopefully we can have a result in the end."
"We are all very focused, the club deserves it, the fans deserve it, the players deserve it.
"Everybody has been working very hard and we have a big job to go away and get the result that we all so desperately want."
Celtic have been given a further boost ahead of the match with the news that Patrick Roberts has recovered from a hamstring injury he sustained in the 2-1 victory over Astana, and will be available for selection.
Davies said: "He is obviously coming back from injury. He has had a few days training so it is a possibility."
