2009 Pacult turns up all decked out in red and vows it's not about 25 years ago.

Byline: GARY RALSTON

Pacult turns up all decked out in red and vows it's not about 25 years ago PETER PACULT last night walked into Celtic Park for the first time in 25 years and offered up an apology.

Hoops fans hoping for a message of remorse would be as wide of the mark as the bottle lobbed in the direction of Rudi Weinhofer from the Jungle in November 1984.

Rapid Vienna boss Pacult said sorry for the colour of his tracksuit, a reminder of the kit his side wore in the Old Trafford replay eventually ordered by UEFA all those years ago after the Austrians convinced the beaks their defender really had been decked by a missile.

Pacult's adidas leisurewear was as fiery a red as the fury still carried by Frank McGarvey and Co over events in the Cup Winners Cup at Parkhead more than two decades ago.

Bandage

No lynch mob materialised at teatime although the bold Frank was spotted outside Celtic Park a couple of hours earlier picking up his tickets for a Europa League clash eagerly awaited by Hoops fans with memories as long as the bandage Weinhofer wrapped around his allegedly blood-splattered skull.

In fact, the so-called hanging party for the Austrians as they arrived for training consisted of two old women with Celtic store bags, a teenage autograph hunter and a bored middle-aged man who appeared to be out for a walk in a rare burst of Glasgow sunshine.

The air was pierced shortly after the arrival of Pacult and his team by raucous shouts, this time corporate fans of Rapid on a stadium tour, flashing nothing but welcome smiles and neon from their tourist cameras. Pacult toyed playfully with the assembled Scottish and Austrian journalists, for the most part laughing off the chance to wallow in memories past, although he could not resist a dig at McGarvey for carrying such animosity against the Viennese club all these years.

However, the former Rapid striker did admit he was carrying a grudge - against his countrymen who have been slow to give his team credit for their Europa League campaign to date. They became the first Austrian outfit to see off an English side in European competition when they defeated Aston Villa in the qualifying round then followed it up with a 3-0 rout of Bundesliga pace-setters Hamburg in their opening match of UEFA's new-look competition.

Celtic be warned. Pacult isn't so much driven by the past as inspired by the future promise of the team he has spent the last three years assembling.

He said: "I hope you don't mind I've come here with my red tracksuit on. I hope I haven't put my foot in it and people don't read wrong things into it.

"I don't often read the papers in Austria but so many of them have been writing about 1984 in relation to this game and not our sporting achievements and it's ticking me off.

Pressure

"In the last round against Hamburg all I read about was how good they were, not how great our achievement was in defeating them.

"Now it's Celtic, a great team and a great club, and it's all about 25 years ago.Why don't they write about our achievements on the pitch? "We have a new generation of players compared with 25 years ago, just like Celtic. We've worked really hard at Rapid in the past three years and we really hope our work will now come to fruition with this new group of young players.

"We know Celtic are strong and go up a level when they play at home. Celtic put everything into their running and we've got to match it if we are to win.

"However, Celtic are still under more pressure going into this game than us.

"We won our first game, they lost theirs. We're here to play good football and give a good performance in this great stadium." Celtic have left themselves with little wriggle room after that 2-1 defeat at Hapoel Tel Aviv last month, almost as big a surprise as the demolition job Rapid did on Hamburg.

Following on from their success in Birmingham, Pacult believes his side have conceded the advantage of being an unknown quantity but still has a couple of tricks up his sleeve to thwart Celtic that don't involve ordering his players to collapse to the ground in front of bemused opponents.

Headded:"We'velosttheelement of surprise with our recent performances but if you look at results against Villa and Hamburg they prove we're a good team and can cope at this level.

"Hamburg were favourites to progress when the draw was made, with Celtic probably second, but after the results of the first round it's plain to see all four teams in our section have the opportunity to advance.

"Everything is open in our group and I have a couple of thoughts in my head I can hopefully use hopefully to surprise Celtic, although I must be careful I don't do the same with my own players.

Mugs

"We can get forward and we have options but a lot also depends on injuries, including if Aiden McGeady is available for Celtic or not."

Pacult's friendly exchanges brought occasional guffaws but there's no doubting the seriousness of his players about securing their second win of the section and making mugs of the bookies, many of whom have priced the Austrians at a tempting 5-1. Parkhead is expected to be a bear pit tonight although Celtic have called on fans to keep the atmosphere within sporting boundaries.

Undoubtedly, the Austrians know an early goal for them may just send the temperature around the ground plummeting to a more comfortable decibel level.

Skipper Steffen Hofmann said: "We know how Celtic play. They will be physical and will give their all but we are prepared.

"We'll give our best and do our best. I hope it will be a great game and it's the players who are making the headlines not the fans."

CAPTION(S):

VIENNA WALTZ: Rapid players train at Parkhead last night DON'T LOOK BACK: Peter Pacult