Rossi, Cygan Wary Of 'Strong' Celtic

Giuseppe Rossi reasons that, since fellow Italian Massimo Donati can't get a came for Celtic, the SPL champions must be a team to fear...

Former Manchester United starlet Giuseppe Rossi is buzzing after his weekend winner against Sporting Gijon and is now hoping to start in midweek as Celtic visit El Madrigal on Champions League duty.

Considering the Scottish opposition, Rossi has pointed to the absence of Massimo Donati from the first team picture as an indicator of the Hoops' quality.

He insisted: "If Donati can't get a start for Celtic, they must be a very good team. His omission tells me enough about how strong they will be.

"When you have a player of his quality and ability, then I would have thought Donati would have been a first choice."

Another man formerly on the books of a Premier League giant, ex-Arsenal defender Pascal Cygan, is similarly wary, despite Celtic's woeful away record on the continent.

The Frenchman, actually omitted from the squad, added: "I remember watching [Celtic] in the Champions League last season and they played like an English team.

"We are aware that Celtic are very strong at home and not so good away. It's a big statistic and it's important for players to know these things.

"Nevertheless, we expect a physical game. The referee will be European, though, so it will be different for them and better for us."

Cygan makes a good point, as the likes of Gary Caldwell, Scott Brown and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink are prone to conceding an excess of free-kicks at the best of times.