Celtic news: Colby Donovan issues Aberdeen warning as Hoops set sights on Europa League
Colby Donovan is determined to help Celtic maintain their perfect domestic record when Aberdeen visit Celtic Park in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday night.
And despite the club’s recent Champions League exit at the hands of LASK, the right-back is also looking forward to a Europa League campaign.
Assistant manager Shaun Maloney has likewise called on the Hoops to respond positively to that setback and give the fans something to be proud of.
Donovan anticipates ‘tough game’ vs Aberdeen
Ahead of Wednesday night’s game, Donovan told the club’s official website: “Aberdeen are always tough when we play them at Pittodrie or Celtic Park.
“There’s no difference – they’re always a good opposition.
“They have a good set-up, they’ve got a good core there, so we know it’s going to be a tough game.”
On Celtic playing Europa League football this term, the defender added: “Going into the Europa League, we know it’s still a top competition and there are still some really good teams in it.
“So, for us to go into this tournament, we’re going to do the best we can.
“Even last season, you saw with the Stuttgart game [in the knockout phase play-offs] – they gave us a good game at home, but we went over there and I think it was the first time we won in Germany.
“We know we can give these top clubs a real go, so we’ll see what happens.”
Celtic looking to bury European scars
Maloney, meanwhile, shrugged off the LASK loss during his own chat with the Celtic website, saying: “We’ve started the season pretty well domestically.
“We had a really big disappointment in Europe and it’s about how we can come back from that.
“What I would say is that off the back of that last game, coming off the bus, we actually got a brilliant reception from our fans before the Falkirk game, which I wouldn’t underestimate because I wasn’t quite sure how that was going to be.
“It was a really difficult night [in Austria], so to get that reception of the fans from the bus and within the stadium was really positive.
“What we now have to do is give them the performances with and without the ball.
“We need the same level without the ball and if we do, we’ve got a decent team.”
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