Strachan: We Need To Score First

Mar 2 2008 By Mark Guidi

GORDON STRACHAN knows his side must score first in Barcelona to have any chance of progressing in the Champions League.

And the Celtic gaffer will put out an attacking line-up in the Nou Camp in a bid to overturn a 3-2 defeat from the first leg.

Strachan said: "All we can do in preparation is work with the aim of scoring first.

"I'm not saying we will go gungho but you always feel better if you walk off the park knowing you tried to score and didn't just play with every man behind the ball.

"Of course we'll need to gain possession and pass the ball well.

"We didn't do that enough in the first leg. Barca did and made us work hard. We were tired with 30 minutes to go and when you're tired and have been chasing the ball you make mistakes. When we played against St Mirren and Inverness recently we had 67 per cent of possession.

"Barcelona had 67 per cent against us. So we were on the receiving end of what we are used to doing to teams in the SPL.

"Their passing was phenomenal and their coaching staff said it was the best they'd played for years.

"So we were beaten by a good side. I wouldn't say we were poor but we definitely weren't good."

Meanwhile, Strachan received some good news when John Kennedy and Mark Wilson were given the all-clear after their visit to Colorado to see knee specialist Dr Richard Steadman. The Celtic boss said: "They were given positive news and that is great for both of them."