Mika Baur’s Germany debut lifts Celtic confidence | BBC Sport
Celtic midfielder Mika Baur says his Germany debut and time working under Jurgen Klopp have given him added confidence ahead of the club’s return to domestic…
Celtic’s run of three straight defeats has put pressure on the club before its return to domestic action. Midfielder Mika Baur told BBC Sport he came back from Germany duty with more confidence and believes the squad is united ahead of Sunday’s match away to Motherwell.
Baur made his Germany debut under head coach Jurgen Klopp, entering as a 77th-minute substitute in a 2-0 Nations League win over Serbia. He also came off the bench in Germany’s subsequent goalless draw in Greece.
“It's the same Mika Baur coming back,” he said. “Maybe with a bit more confidence, a bit more experience, but no, I'm the same.”
The international break arrived after Celtic lost three consecutive games, including two Old Firm defeats either side of a home Europa League loss to Ferencvaros. The run triggered scrutiny of manager Martin O'Neill’s position and public protests directed at Dermot Desmond.
Baur said he sensed the players were ready to return, despite having only rejoined training that day after spending the previous two weeks away with Germany.
“Today in training, I felt everyone is looking forward to Sunday, when it starts again, that we can do some things much better than we did before the break,” he said.
He described the break as a chance for the group to reconnect and work on areas that needed improvement. “I have the feeling that everyone is close together, the team is close,” Baur said. “So just positive, nothing I'm worried about.”
The defeats have drawn criticism even though Celtic remain top of the league. Baur said he understood the reaction from supporters, given the importance of the matches the team had lost.
“I can understand it because we lost three big matches the week before the national break,” he said. “So absolutely okay, and I knew it, in big clubs, it's usual as well.”
The result matters beyond the squad’s mood: Celtic now return to domestic competition with pressure on performances and a demanding schedule ahead. Baur said the team would need supporters’ backing as it tries to respond, especially during weeks that move from Sunday to Thursday and back to Sunday.
“So it's absolutely okay, the criticism, because we deserved it at that moment, but now we need them as well again to perform in the next week,” he said. “We have a lot of games, a lot of Sunday-Thursday-Sunday weeks, so we need everyone.”
Baur became Germany’s 1,000th international in the Serbia match, which was Klopp’s first victory as head coach.
Source: bbc.com
