Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen has admitted he’s entering the unknown with his Norwegian champions and doesn’t know how they’ll cope coming up against seasoned Celtic next month.
Bodo/Glimt are in the middle of pre-season at the moment after a long absence from competitive action during their winter months.
They’ve sold a number of top talents to teams in bigger leagues and are rebuilding for the year ahead.
Drawing 1-1 against Dynamo Kiev in a friendly earlier this week, they are now warming up for a massive doubleheader against the Bhoys next month in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Speaking to The Daily Record, Knutsen said: “It’s a new situation for us because we are in the beginning of pre-season and we’ve never played a team like Celtic in this time.
“That’s the way it is though and for us to have a game against a club like Celtic is actually perfect for us in terms of preparation for the new league season. But how competitive we will be in the games against Celtic, I don’t know.
“They are a big club and a good team. Celtic are a typical international team because they like to play attacking football and have many good players, just like Dynamo Kiev.
“I have been watching the Celtic games but I will watch more games before we play them. I have been in Glasgow once and watched Celtic play Aberdeen. I was there on holiday. It was an amazing atmosphere.”
There could be an element of mind games from Knutsen here, but it is true they have never played a match of this importance at this stage of their year before.
Bodo/Glimt have never qualified for a knockout stage in European competition. In fact, this year was their first every group stage.
Celtic truly have an opportunity to catch them cold and get at them with a high tempo and intensity. Yes, they’ll be fresh, but the Bhoys should have the squad strength to be in great shape ourselves.
We have a serious chance of progression to the next round.
In other news, “Celtic are on the same page as us”; Manager growing frustrated with fringe Bhoy’s transfer delay.
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