Sparta Prague could axe their manager if they lose to Celtic in the Europa League tomorrow, according to club legend Jiri Novotny.
The Scottish champions travel to Czech Republic desperately needing three points but they currently sit in bottom spot with one point from three games.
Celtic will be hoping to avenge a shock 4-1 thrashing in Glasgow in the last game before the international break and under-pressure manager Neil Lennon knows he needs a win.
But the Prague side have been on a dreadful run of form themselves and the knives are out for manager Vaclav Kotal after they lost 3-1 away at Viktoria Plzen and then were crushed 4-2 by Ceske Budejovice at the weekend - the first time in their history Sparta had lost to them at home.
And former Czech international midfielder Novotny - who won 14 league titles with Sparta - admits only a win may save the manager from the sack.
He said: "Make no mistake, the manager is in serious danger of losing his job.
"I'm told all is not well at Sparta and you could see why when they lose four goals at home. Slavia Prague seems a long way ahead of them.
"Conceding that amount of goals to an opponent like Ceske Budejovice means the alarm bells start to ring.
They also lost three goals to Viktoria and it's clear their defence has major issues.
"Basically, the team cannot cope with any injuries and they have had a lot of them. They are missing eight players of varying abilities.
"At least five of them would go straight into the team.
"Having said that, they should still be able to beat such a modest opponent. In fact, Sparta's reserve team should be winning that game.
"That defence is the big problem and Celtic could exploit it in the Europa League. It's a worry for Kotal."
