Christopher Jullien has backed Celtic for some European success this season, as he sent out an exciting message to the supporters.
Jullien performed superbly well against Nomme Kalju last night. The 2-0 victory in Estonia was as much of a stroll as you could’ve imagined for him. He wasn’t overly-tested defensively, but dealt with several long balls well throughout the contest.
Jullien also looked comfortable on the ball, which is essential for a Celtic centre-back these days. But the confidence was flowing through everyone on the pitch, not just the Frenchman.
And going by his words after the contest, it’s clear that there’s a growing level of morale at the club. Speaking to Celtic TV, this is what Jullien had to say post-match.
“It’s a team who are, a lot of times, in the Champions League (Cluj). So it will be another level higher. But I think that we are ready, we’ve finished our pre-season now and are gonna start our season on Saturday. I’m sure that we have the quality in the team to do something big.
“I’m confident in our team that everything is going to be fine.
“It was important (to play vs Kluj). Since I arrived, I’ve trained a lot. I’ve just tried to be more comfortable with the guys. I’m new, and centre-back is a position where you have a lot of responsibility for the team. I was feeling comfortable today. Buzzing for me, and to win my first game is very important too.”
European success on the agenda for all Celtic fans
It’s difficult to judge what doing something “big” equates to. For us, it would probably be qualifying for the Champions League proper given our failure to do so last season. The competition levels get higher and higher every year for the Hoops, and continuing to give UEFA a bloody nose by making their tournament is always a plus.
So far, the most encouraging aspect is the fact that Celtic have shown they can do it. They aren’t showing any major signs of weakness from the opening two Champions League qualifiers.
Cluj will perhaps be a more accurate test of where we are at with the quality we currently have. But you can’t not be impressed with how Celtic have started life under Neil Lennon.
There are so many players who look as though they’re playing at 100% already. Callum McGregor, Scott Brown, Leigh Griffiths, and Mikey Johnston are all absolutely flying early on.
Celtic fans are entitled to think this is the best start to a campaign we’ve had in some time. We’ve now won six out of seven matches before the campaign has even begun. Granted, three of those games were friendlies, but they’re still helping to develop that winning mentality.
We can gauge further next week as to whether the club looks ready to do something big. But the confidence and performance levels of the team as early as July is extremely exciting for us.
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