Strachan makes victory the aim in Milan challenge
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Your support makes all the difference.Celtic visit San Siro this evening needing only one point to secure a place in the last 16 of the Champions League for the second year running. A draw is all they need at Milan to ensure they join the holders in the second round, and there is a train of thought suggesting the barricades should be raised.
Manager Gordon Strachan believes otherwise, though, and admits his side will have only one aim. "I have never asked any player, any of those I have managed now or in the past, to play for a draw," he said. "To be honest, I would not know how to. Our attitude has got to remain the same, we will go out to play football, enjoy ourselves and try to win."
That is precisely what Celtic did when the teams met at Celtic Park in October, when they won 2-1. But away performances have beenCeltic's major weakness in Europe. "There is no scientific formula to football and, if there was one, I would change it to let us win away," added Strachan.
The motivation should therefore be high and Strachan believes his side have come of age for this, their fourth meeting with Milan in 2007. He said: "We are in a situation now where my players don't have any fear of games like this one."
In fact, the biggest test Strachan has tomorrow is to get his players focused on their game, and not what is happening in the Ukraine, where a win for Shakhtar Donetsk would put the pressure on his side.
The result of that game, should Celtic avoid defeat, becomes irrelevant and Strachan would prefer it to be out of his and his players' minds throughout the game. "We will deal with our game and I will just ask my players to go out and win it," he said.
The Scottish Premier League have agreed to postpone Rangers' game against Gretna on Sunday to allow them more time to prepare for their Champions League game with Lyons next Tuesday.
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