Ferencvaros sporting director Tamas Hajnal has admitted that a packed Celtic Park creates a “terrifying” atmosphere.
Celtic will once again face off against European foes in Glasgow this week without any supporters in attendance. The Champions League second qualifying round clash will take place behind closed doors, just like last week’s 6-0 rout of KR Reykjavik.
The Hoops didn’t look out of sorts against KR last week despite the lack of an atmosphere. Neil Lennon’s side still had far too much power for the Icelandic champions, and we’ll all be hoping a similar outcome transpires on Wednesday night against the Hungarians.
However, speaking to Hungarian outlet Origo, Hajnal has admitted that Ferencvaros will be avoiding a scary atmosphere this week and that they’ll look to capitalise on it.
“The odds of the match are clearly in favour of Celtic. However, our match against Djurgardens shows that we have to believe in ourselves. We need to be confident that we can be able to surprise. We want to force Celtic into a difficult match.
“As an athlete, one regrets not being able to be a spectator. As for the clash against Celtic, the fact is that their fans always create a terrifying atmosphere. Perhaps it will be a slight advantage to us not to have to deal with the voices of 60,000 people in addition to the opponent.
“For now, we’ll do our best in the Champions League and see if we’re good enough (for the group stage).”
Celtic yet to be flustered by empty stands
Celtic’s stats at Parkhead so far this season have been irresistible.
Two games played – two wins. 11 goals scored and one against. All in front of zero supporters too. That’s mightily impressive, especially when you take into consideration that many believed not having fans would see the Hoops drop a level.
The dismantling of Reykjavik last week was exactly the kind of five-star performance you would expect with a packed house. It’s clear that, even though the club wants its fans back, they can still perform without them.
And home advantage is clearly still evident across the board in Scotland. Rangers have won three home games without conceding a goal, whilst Livingston and Kilmarnock have both managed to take points off of both the Ibrox side and Celtic respectively.
The fact is that it’s been proven that supporters aren’t needed when it comes to turning your performance levels up. It can be done without them, especially at home.
Whilst we’re all looking forward to the day when Parkhead is rocking once again, Celtic can’t look for any excuses when it comes to Champions League qualifying. Having no fans certainly falls into that bracket.
In other news, a former Celtic star has finally managed to win his first game a whole seven months after leaving Parkhead.
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