LIAM SCALES insists Celtic will not brick it in front of Dortmund’s Yellow Wall.
Instead, the Ireland defender plans to stand back and get ready to scale it.
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The 80,000 Westfalenstadion is one of Europe’s most impressive arenas and is set to be the biggest crowd Scales has ever experienced.
Incredibly, the famous behind-the-goal stand holds almost 25,000 supporters alone.
But for ex-Shamrock Rovers man Scales that holds no fears as he prepares to get another three points in the Champions League.
He said: “We have the same in Celtic Park.
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“It can suffocate teams but we know what it’s like to play in an atmosphere like that.
“I think we’re well equipped based on what we’ve played in at Celtic Park and even going to Ibrox, that can be hostile, so we’re quite ready for that.
“For me, you get a minute before the game when the anthem’s playing and you’re lining up and we’ll do the huddle. Then you can take in the atmosphere.
“But once the game starts it doesn’t really affect you as much as you think because you’re so focused on what’s going on on the pitch.
“I’ll take a minute while we’re lining up and coming out to take it all in because it’s obviously an amazing stadium and a great team, so I can’t wait.
“It’s something I usually do just to be calm going into the game.
“Just take a few deep breaths and then you’re ready.
“That would be something I’ve always done.
“It’s a great European stadium. How many seats has it got? About 80,000 seats. That’s brilliant. That’ll probably be the biggest I’ll have played in and it means a lot.
“It’s fantastic, so I’ll take it all in for that minute before the game. Then get down to business.” Celtic go to Germany today in great form.
SIX & ON FIRE
Their performance against St Johnstone on Saturday evening was everything Brendan Rodgers hoped for.
Saints caretaker boss Andy Kirk could have done with the youngster who rattled the frame of the goal during the half-time crossbar challenge.
The wee fella’s precision just was not evident in anything the home team produced during a 6-0 home defeat.
Midfielder Matt Smith had his moments but Celtic were simply never in danger of dropping anything at McDiarmid Park.
The Perth side were probably hoping Rodgers’ side had one eye on Borussia Dortmund.
Instead, they were faced with a team that was totally and utterly focused on the job in hand. It was just far too easy for Rodgers’ side, albeit some of the football on show from the defending champions was awesome.
Kyogo scored two first-half goals with fantastic finishes.
Paulo Bernardo’s strike from outside the box came after a sensational team move from one end of the park to the other.
Callum McGregor’s fourth goal of the season — all from outside the box — just class.
Daizen Maeda’s header, which made it 5-0, was no more than he deserved having been robbed of an earlier volley.
And quite why referee Don Robertson decided to chalk it off was a mystery for everyone inside the ground.
GREAT IDAH
Saints ace and Dubliner Graham Carey went down inside his own box, but there was no way in the world Auston Trusty fouled him. Celtic’s sixth goal was another moment of magic. Sub Luke McCowan’s lovely little dinked pass into the box was backheeled by Alex Valle for Ireland hitman Adam Idah to score.
The linesman’s flag initially looked like it was going to rule it out but after a check, it stood.
Scales added: “The intensity was there from the start.
“We stayed on top of the game. I think that we respected the challenge that they brought and probably did the dirty parts really, really well and then the quality took over.
“Towards the end it was so good to watch from the back, watching some of the goals go in. It was amazing.”
Boss Rodgers demanded a Champions League mentality for the Premiership clash — and he got one.
Arklow native Scales added: “I don’t think it’s difficult to be honest.
“Obviously Tuesday night’s massive for us but we weren’t even thinking about that before this game. This was a big game for us as well.
“We want to keep winning games and putting teams away and keeping clean sheets.
“For us, we’ve got everything to play for in the league.
“It’s not that difficult to get up for these games.
“Even though the Dortmund fixture might look like a bigger one and it’s maybe a bigger stage, this is the bread and butter and this is what we need to do well every week, so it’s massively important for us.”
Maeda summed up Celtic’s attitude with an exhausting shift from start to finish, even chasing back 60 yards to prevent Saints hitting on the break late in the second half.
Scales added: “He’s like that every week — that’s not a one-off.
“You see that week in, week out. It’s so noticeable when he does it because of how quick and how far he runs.
“All over the park our attacking players are doing that for us ten, 15 times a game — it’s what we work on though.
“We work on our counter-pressing, winning the ball back and as a team getting back into shape as quick as we can.
“That shows the dirty side of the game that we did well as well as the nice parts as well.”
