Former Ireland defender Richard Dunne reckons Celtic will have to become more pragmatic in order to compete with the Champions League big guns instead of turning matches into “basketball games”.
Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou is adamant he won’t compromise his attacking style, saying previously “we don’t need to change our approach to measure ourselves against the best" as he looks to make an impact on the continent but Dunne believes a rethink could be required after a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid in their final Group F game. That saw Celtic finish their section without a win, picking up just two points from draws against Shakhtar Donetsk. Postecoglou has consistently said he won’t deviate from his principles but Dunne, capped 80 times for his country, believes the Parkhead boss might have to.
The former Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa and QPR stopper told Virgin Media Sport: "For Celtic to progress they have to realise the level that they are at compared to the real top sides in Europe. Maybe they have to go and soak up a bit of pressure to try and defend as a team rather than turning games into basketball games with this end-to-end all the time.
"The bigger sides will do what Real Madrid did to them. For the manager it's a case of 'this was a learning step' this season and now they know they can't do this again. Inevitably they'll get a lot of supporters, applause and plaudits for that stuff but they won't get through the group. They've done it their way this season but now they have to adjust from the league in to the Champions League next year."
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