The idea scenario for Celtic in Champions League play-offs | OneFootball

Forget about goings on elsewhere it’s all about the Scottish Champions…

Luke McCowan of Celtic celebrates scoring to give Celtic a 1-0 lead. Celtic v St Mirren, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, Glasgow, 3 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace, IMAGO / Shutterstock (The Celtic Star)

An element of our support seems to be hellbent on pouring cold water on our aspirations this season at such an early stage.

Yes, our board has certainly been found wanting when it comes to the recruitment side of things so far this summer, but with four weeks of the transfer window still remaining I’m hopeful that we will bring in the required quality desired to strengthen our squad to make us ready for another memorable campaign in the Champions League.

Arne Engels of Celtic Sporting Lisbon v Celtic, Pre Season Friendly, Football, Estadio Algarve, Portugal – 16 Jul 2025 Estadio Algarve Portugal Photo Carlos Rodrigues Shutterstock

After all it was this time last year we were dipping into the cash reserves to splash £27 million on Arne Engels, Adam Idah, Auston Trusty and Luke McCowan before the window closed.

We can only hope that is the case again, and we’ve no reason to think that additional signings will not be incoming especially in the forward areas as we need to replace both Kyogo and Nicolas Kuhn.

Nicolas Kuhn, Como FC

As a support we have a lot to look forward to, we won our opening game of the season and have a great chance of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stages for the fourth consecutive season.

Unfortunately the prophets of doom in our support are more concerned about what’s going on elsewhere after watching our Glasgow rivals beat a very average side in their recent Champions League qualifier, the same rivals who failed to beat Motherwell at the weekend. Indeed they were lucky to get a point at Fir Park and that’s according to their new manager Russell Martin.

29th July 2025; Spiros Louis Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece; UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg Football, Panathinaikos versus theRangers; Russell Martin speaks to the media. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Scottish clubs doing well in Europe isn’t actually a bad thing for Celtic. Our idea scenario I suppose is for them to win this tie then go out to probably Club Brugge in the play-off rounds so that they drop into the Europa League where they are much more likely to gain vital co-efficient points for Scottish football.

Aberdeen v Celtic Cinch Scottish Premiership 03-02-2024. Aberdeen and Celtic fans during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and Celtic at Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, Scotland on 3 February 2024. Aberdeen Pittodrie Stadium.Photo Stephen Dobson PSI

Aside from that crucial factor, just forget about goings on elsewhere, it’s all about the champions and we have a vital month ahead of us on and off the park starting at Pittodrie on Sunday lunchtime when we face Scottish Cup holders Aberdeen. They lost 2-0 at Tynecastle on Monday evening in their first league match of the season so will be anxious to get off the mark at the weekend against the Champions.

Should be a great match!

Just an Ordinary

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CELTIC IN THE EIGHTIES BY DAVID POTTER, FOREWORD BY DANNY McGRAIN is published by Celtic Star Books on the fifth day of September. You can pre-order now to guarantee your copy which will be signed by Danny McGrain, with just a limited number of signed copies still available, although they are selling very quickly.

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, pre-order now

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Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered and don’t worry, your copy will be signed by the legendary Celtic and Scotland star who captained Celtic for the early years of the 1980s.

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Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.

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