Lambert hits back at critics

Celtic midfielder Paul Lambert lashed out at his critics after the 3-1 UEFA Cup fourth-round first-leg win over Stuttgart.

The veteran Scotland international has had his stamina questioned in some quarters so far this season but Lambert proved his doubters wrong as he cancelled out Kevin Kuranyi’s opener.

Shaun Maloney and Stilian Petrov sealed an impressive comeback for the Hoops to put them in a strong position for the second leg.

Lambert told BBC Scotland: “There is still a long way to go and they are a very good team but we managed to get a result and it gives us a chance.

“For all the idiots who said my legs had gone, that is absolute rubbish, which is also my opinion of the whole thing.

“If people want to hide behind things they can, but they don’t know my fitness.

“If I don’t play, it is because I’m not playing well. It is as simple as that.”

However, after losing a lucrative Champions League place to FC Basle after a similar scoreline in August, the former Borussia Dortmund man warns that the second leg in Germany will not be a formality.

Lambert said: “It does give us a chance to go through now. But I’ve played in Germany and I know their mentality and it is far from over.

“We have given ourselves a chance though and that is all we can ask for.

“But, despite them losing players for the second leg (Marcelo Bordon was sent off), it is still going to be a very difficult game for us.”