00:00There's a range of emotions after what was an incredible evening actually, how do you begin to process what you've just watched?
00:15Well like you say, a mixture of firstly pride in the performance level, we have to remember this is Bayern Munich and I think everyone had talked about that before the game and the challenges that we have here
00:28but I thought performance wise we were outstanding in the game, played without any fear, defended so well with discipline, pressed at the right moments, gave them issues on that side of the build up
00:45and then were able to be compact and tight in the right moments and didn't give away so much, I think Harry hit the crossbar in the first half but there wasn't too many other real glaring opportunities for them yet
00:58in the first half we created really really good chances, so second half we have to defend a wee bit more but we know the game plan and the game idea and then we get in front and deservingly so I felt
01:13and then it was just about could we get the second one but it never looked that we were going to concede the goal that we did and obviously sadly for us right at the end we did
01:27but I can only take immense pride from the performance and like I say the guys gave everything
01:38Just to pick up on that Brendan, what can this type of performance do for this group of players going forward?
01:52I think European credibility was always going to be important for us this season and that's my take away from this campaign over the 10 games
02:03We learnt some valuable lessons along the way, we played some amazing football along the way and we've taken a club of this size and magnitude and a club where one of the players is maybe more than our budget to buy players what they might be on in salary
02:25So that and everything that comes with that allows us to build, I think last year I felt that we had developed even though we never got the points, I thought performance wise it was good
02:38I think this season it's been very good, we've made the progress that made me want to come back and now we've got to finish the season off strong, two titles to go for
02:51Get into the Champions League next season, look to build the squad again and my unswerving plan is to make this a season club at this level where we can go and really hurt big opponents like Bayern Munich
03:08Michael
03:14Just on the goal itself, was there an instant in the build up, maybe perhaps a foul on Meda, what did you make of it at that moment?
03:23Yeah I think that's a little bit of our inexperience at this level, Ubi McCann was clever, he picks him up because if he stays down and it was a knock on the head, I felt the referee should have given the free kick anyway or certainly stopped the game
03:42and maybe a more experienced player or team might have stayed down and then the referee has to stop the game, but he didn't, he played on and then eventually obviously they get the goal, so yeah we were disappointed that we obviously didn't get that in the build up
04:01Gabriel
04:03Brendan, just on your team's performance, do you think that's one of the best in recent years for Celtic in Europe because you're brilliant both with and without the ball and then do you feel that it also shows that Celtic do belong at this level, you are a knockout Champions League team, you can go blow for blow with one of the biggest clubs in the world?
04:23Well firstly I've spoken to Martin and Lee Lennon and those are two guys that have got extensive experience of European football at this club and with the greatest respect they were waxing lyrical about the performance and the result and like I said they recognise this is Bayern Munich that we've come and come into their back yard and run this tie and this game here very very close
04:51so I think performance wise, result wise because it feels like a defeat but we've come to here and we've got a very much deserved draw in the game but sadly it wasn't enough for us, we'll look back to the first game and those little details around the goals that we conceded then
05:11but I think it can give us nothing but confidence to show that the template I spoke about defensively was very good, we limited them to not so many chances, we looked dangerous when we had the ball, we had some real good opportunities and going forward we can take confidence from it and look to build the squad in order to be competitive at this level.
05:38How difficult a balance is it for the players right now, I mean they looked understandably absolutely shattered at the end when that goal went in, there's that feeling and how cruel that was versus what an excellent performance it was and what an excellent campaign it's been, will they realise that do you think?
05:54Yeah and that's my job to do that, that's what I've done all the way along the way whether it's in the Champions League or whether it's in the league, the focus around performance and the analysis of where we can be better and improve, I think tonight I was just so disappointed for them, what they gave to the game, what they gave to the occasion, we run a team that will see themselves as potential finalists very very close
06:20so I said before the game this will play with no fear, I don't have any regrets and I don't think they can sit in the changing room and think anything otherwise and the pride I felt in how they performed and what they gave the game, that will stay with them and we'll use it as a motivation going forward.
06:42Everybody's getting used to this new format of the tournament, it's one of the frustrations I guess that you've hit a team this strong at this level, if the league position had been slightly different you might have got a slightly easier draw?
06:56No, it doesn't work like that, I think the fluidity of the competition, I thought it was really really good, I have to say right to the last kick of the ball in the eighth game it could have moved up and down, the reality is when you arrive at this point in the knockout stages there's every chance you're going to meet a top quality team and for us it was either going to be Real Madrid or Bayern Munich,
07:23yep we can look back and go yeah there's maybe one or two other points or it could have got us another difficult team, but no I thought the format was really good, it gives clubs like ourselves who are nowhere near the level of clubs like Bayern Munich, it gives us an opportunity to demonstrate that we can still compete at this level and that has obviously worked well for us this season
07:52and our job now is to get back in it next season and see if we can keep progressing.
08:06Brendan you mentioned building on this and progressing, what will it take for the club for you to progress and to build from here?
08:16Well thankfully we didn't get that result that you were thinking of!
08:30I just think it's experience at the level, so the players have come up against top teams, top players at this level and we've shown that we're more than a match, so that gives you confidence.
08:43There's no doubt we would want to improve the squad because again if you can bring on the level of quality off the bench at this level it's absolutely critical, so that possibility to be able to do that, we were never going to have the resources of many teams at this level.
09:01I think if you look at the competition and where we sit in terms of that, in terms of budget and everything else, we'll never be like a lot of the teams are, but we can certainly show that if we can have an idea and work very very hard that we can still be really good at this level.
09:22It's going to be can we improve the squad, our confidence will improve from playing at the level and playing this well at the level.
09:31It's just a continual focus of a game idea and hard work and good players.
