Former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill thinks the Bhoys will really improve in European competition next season, as Ange Postecoglou settles into his second season.
O’Neill was at the helm for some famous European nights at Celtic Park and abroad during his team as boss in Glasgow.
However, even his debut season didn’t go particularly well in UEFA competition, exiting the second round of the UEFA Cup to Bordeaux before Christmas.
Speaking to The Times, O’Neill thinks Celtic can make their mark on Europe in 2022/23, stating: “I believe that Celtic’s problems in Europe this season can be addressed. Going straight into the group stage of the Champions League will be a massive help in every respect, particularly on the financial side, because I think they probably need to strengthen the playing side if they’re going to get out of their group.
“That’s very difficult in itself but there’s absolutely no doubt that Celtic can improve in Europe. Rangers have given them the lead this year so why can’t Celtic do it too? Now that Celtic have got things up and running, the manager has got control of the football side of things and is doing really well there’s no reason why they can’t contest it.
“The players have good belief now. I absolutely accept that stepping into the Champions League is something else — and it really is something else. Even if you’re playing at home with 60,000 people roaring you on, it’s still difficult.
“He will be a fella who will relish the challenges in Europe now that he has got something under his belt, as it were. When he was approaching this year I’m sure that, deep down, he thought: ‘Domestically, this is what I want to do, try and be strong and Europe will follow’. He now has that opportunity.”
It’s important to remember that while our Europa Conference League bid ended badly, our nine points haul in the Europa League group stage wasn’t a bad return at all.
We were never going to get through Champions League qualifying last summer given the state of the squad at the time.
With no qualifying to worry about, a proper pre-season ahead and, as O’Neill points out, further squad investment to come, there’s no reason to think we can’t show progress on the continental scene with the right draw.
As I stated, even O’Neill, Neil Lennon and Gordon Strachan, three managers who had strong European campaigns, didn’t do particularly well away from domestic action in their debut seasons.
There’s no reason to think Postecoglou can’t push a path forward here.
In other news, Chris Sutton delivers instant “in Celtic’s shadow” verdict on today’s Scottish Cup final.
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