Petrov makes most of second best

Uefa Cup is a poor substitute, but Celtic see the benefit. Phil Gordon reports

Eastern Europe, as Bram Stoker so successfully discovered, is ripe for the exploitation of myth. Old habits, though, die hard and even modern men like Stilian Petrov find it hard to ignore superstition.

The Bulgarian international successfully used one of his erstwhile eastern bloc neighbours on Thursday night to remove a curse that seemed to be hanging over Celtic's head. His stunning goal in the 8-1 Uefa Cup rout of FK Suduva from Lithuania helped blow away the uncertainty that has washed around Parkhead since the Champions' League exit to FC Basel.

When Petrov broke his leg two seasons ago he blamed it on a lucky charm, which he wore on his wrist, snapping just minutes before a fateful tackle at St Johnstone. Today, though, he can focus on a far happier hunting ground. Dens Park, where Celtic meet Dundee in the Scottish Premier League, is where Petrov banished all his inner fears exactly a year ago.

The young midfielder came on as a substitute, worrying whether the double fracture in his left leg would stand up to its first tackle. Any thought of weakness was dispelled when Petrov, 22, thrashed in a venomous 25-yard free-kick within minutes of his arrival, a feat he would replicate three days later in the Stadio Delle Alpi against Juventus.

The glamour of last season's Champions' League adventure was absent from Parkhead on Thursday, but for Petrov the occasion marked a cathartic turning point as Martin O'Neill's team erased the memory of the away-goals elimination by Basel, and the subsequent defeat by Motherwell which handed Rangers pole position in the league for the first time in two years.

"The Uefa Cup is not much of a substitute, but it will still be an interesting adventure," Petrov stated. "For me, losing to Basel was the most disappointing experience of my career. The Champions' League is the biggest tournament in club football and it meant a lot to the players to be involved."

However, a period of painful reflection brought an end product in the demolition of Suduva, it was the shock therapy of watching Europe's top clubs play without them which restored Celtic's self-belief.

"Watching Liverpool struggle to contain a Valencia side that we beat here last season lifted the lads' spirits about our own ability," O'Neill said.

The Uefa Cup has offered Celtic a second chance and Petrov feels his team are capable of grabbing it. "There are some very good teams in the competition already," he said, "and once the first stage of the Champions' League is over and other teams drop down to the Uefa Cup, as we did last season, it will become even tougher.

"How far can we go? I think it depends on the luck of the draw. Last year, we were drawn against Valencia in our very first game [after moving down from the Champions' League] and it was always going to be difficult for us. We were unlucky to go out on penalties and the memory is bad for me because I missed one of the penalties, but it was one of our best performances of the season and if we do that again, who knows what we can achieve?"

However, it is domestic thoughts which preoccupy Celtic, even if today's match is a direct result of exiting from the Champions' League and into the Uefa Cup's diet of Thursday-night football, which could see the rest of their autumn fixtures re-schedule for a Sunday service.

"We all know we need to improve," declared Petrov. "Losing to Motherwell was unacceptable and we must improve and return to last season's form."