CELTIC assistant boss John Collins praised Liam Henderson after the 6-1 walloping from Spurs in Helsinki. The 18-year-old midfielder stood out amid the debris of a drubbing from the big-money London side. Collins said: This was an education for our young team. You learn from playing against good players. Liam Henderson, in particular, had a terrific game against quality opposition. When you see him taking the ball in tight situations, three or four goals down, and still wanting to use it well - I think thats a massive positive. Less happy was Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino who was seething rather than celebrating after the one-sided affair. He had hoped to pit his players against a full-strength Hoops side with first team regulars such as Fraser Forster, Virgil van Dijk and Charlie Mulgrew. Instead, Ronny Deila, who also remained at home to concentrate on finalising plans for the crucial Champions League encounter against Legia Warsaw at Murrayfield on Wednesday, left the selection process to his No.2 Collins. He fielded youngsters such as John Herron, Jamie Lindsay and Paul McMullan against the London millionaires. A frustrated Pochettino said: I was hoping for a stronger test for my team. I brought a very strong squad to Finland for this match to prepare for the new season. Anyway, it still gave us a chance to continue developing our style of football. Collins, though, explained: The game was arranged back in February before Ronny and I arrived. Circumstances dictated we had to bring a young team with this match sandwiched in between European ties. The Hoops No.2 added: As soon as we saw our opponents - a Premier League team full of pace, power and quality and a new manager to impress - and our team full of Under-18s, then we knew it would be a massive step up for them. Obviously, its painful. But I thought there were patches in the first-half where we passed it and we were brave on the ball. Its difficult when youve lost six goals, but the effort and the commitment was there.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 10:31:01 +0000
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