John Collins: Mogga needs time at Parkhead

JOHN COLLINS says Tony Mowbray's football philosophy is PERFECT for Celtic - and he WILL get it right at Parkhead.

Mowbray is under early pressure at the club after four games without a win.

But the man who inherited the team he had at Hibs says Mowbray's football ideas are right for Celtic.

Celtic legend Collins was a radio summariser at Parkhead for Thursday's defeat by Bundesliga cracks Hamburg and he said: "There's no doubt in my mind Tony will get it right.

"I like his football philosophy. For me, the way he wants his football teams to play is the right way. But it's going to take time - people have to be patient and sometimes being patient is the hardest thing in football.

"You can't build a house without foundations. He's not got a magic wand, he can't just appear with new players.

"When I went to Hibs after he'd left I was impressed by the way he taught the players to play football. He'd taught them the right manner, which was passing and moving.

"I know it's been a difficult week for Scottish teams but there's a combination of factors. There's a financial crisis and prices are high during the week so that maybe accounts for the crowds. It's the same all over Europe on that front.

"As regards the quality, Celtic and Rangers' finances are not what they used to be.

"They can't afford to go and buy the players the fans would love to watch, the real entertainers. The days of the Gascoignes and Laudrups at Ibrox, and the Di Canios at Celtic, are gone. Finances dictate they must look at different markets.

"That makes it more difficult for the managers, who are trying to put a team out which will go and entertain the crowd. So you have to try and produce them from within.

"I think this season it looks like Celtic could be out of the Europa League but anybody who knows anything about football and watched the game on Thursday would know Celtic were up against a team with better players.

"Hamburg are a good football team, and that's with a lot of players missing. But they have a huge budget compared to Celtic - they're are signing players for £10-12million.

"I still think we've got to try and work on our academies. That's the way forward. If you can't buy them, you've got to try and produce your own.

"Ball retention, without a doubt, is the key to it. Controlling the ball and passing it at a high tempo is something all the top teams in Europe can do.

"Hamburg did it on Thursday - they passed it quick and their players' touch was good. They had pace at the top of the pitch, and that frightens defenders and creates chances.

"We've got to work on that with our kids at a very young age. It's too late for the professionals. Yes, players will get better if they train every day but by the time they're 19 or 20 it's too late. The development age is probably 8-14 where they're mastering the ball - right foot, left foot, inside, outside of the foot, first touch, control, head up, a bit of acceleration. Football hasn't changed in that respect. It's not size. I don't go along with the theory that you need six-foot-tall athletes - look at Barcelona, and Arsenal players like Fabregas.

"Of course you need strong centre-halves to tackle but you don't need big players all over the park. You need players who can deal with the ball and have balance and co-ordination."

Collins played under Walter Smith at Everton and has similar sympathy for his former manager. He said: "He's in the job that he obviously loves because if he didn't he wouldn't be there just now.

"Celtic and Rangers are tough jobs because of the expectations. Never more so than at this moment when the finances have dried up at both clubs. It's a test and the fans are different now.

"We've all got Sky TV and we've all got world-class teams on our screens Tuesday and Wednesday nights. That wasn't the case 20 years ago. So fans are spoiled by what they see on their televisions seven nights a week.

"When fans come to the grounds they want to see what they're seeing on TV, which is a bit unrealistic to be perfectly honest." Collins had a five-month spell as a coach in Belgium with Charleroi last season and he recalled: "The thing there was that they had more imported players.

"They have different employment laws so you had Africans and Brazilians all over the league. That brings the quality up and gives you options. We don't have that facility in Scotland because there are restrictions on who you can bring in. There are positives and negatives about that.

"If you're bringing in top quality 18 or 19-year-olds from Africa or South America who will come into first teams and light up the stadium, then there's no problem bringing those kinds of players in.

"But if it's players who are only 5-10 per cent better than our young players then I think it's the wrong thing to do. The job should be to coach our own young players and make them that 5-10 per cent better.

"But if you can find someone who's far superior to what you have then I'd be all for bringing them in to entertain the fans."

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