Celtic assistant manager John Collins isn’t concerned over the quality of the pitch in Azerbaijan for the second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie against Qarabag, instead calling for adaptability from his players.

The Scottish champions hold a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg and will hope to progress through to the playoff round with a win against Qarabag on Wednesday night.




While excessive heat in Baku has rendered the conditions at the Tofic Bahramov Stadium not ideal currently, Collins expects the game to go ahead on schedule, and feels the Bhoys will have to adapt their game to suit the conditions of the pitch.

"I don't think the game's going to be in doubt”, he was quoted as saying by BBC Scotland.
 


"At this level you expect the pitch to be of a good standard but if it isn't we'll just have to adapt our play."

relatedNewsStory

The 47-year-old has explained Celtic’s methods to tackle the conditions of the pitch, which he says will be the same for both teams.

"The pitch is the same for both teams.

“If it is bumpy, we'll have to be a little bit more direct and not pass the ball in our own half if it's really bumpy”, he added.

He has further stressed the need to be adaptable to adverse conditions, and believes Qarabag will face similar problems to Celtic with their on-the-ground style of football.

"They're a footballing team that likes to pass the ball on the grass so it will affect them as much as it will affect us.

"It's not ideal, but that's football. You've got to be adaptable", said Collins.