Scott Brown reckons Celtic could clinch their first trophy of the season – as early as this month.
That’s because the Hoops captain sees Champions League qualification like winning a cup. Celtic have to navigate four ties and eight matches to make the promised land nowadays, and it’s far from easy.
Sarajevo and Nomme Kalju have already fallen to Neil Lennon’s men, while Cluj and Slavia Prague lie in wait. And Brown reckons the upcoming tie against the Romanians is almost like a semi-final.
“Getting to the Champions League is like winning a trophy for us”, he told the Daily Record.
“The manager calls it the fourth trophy of the season. Everyone knows how hard it is, you are up against top quality sides in the qualifiers.
“The game on Wednesday will be huge for us as it’s going to get harder and more difficult now.
“We’re expecting that, but we’re up for the challenge.
“We have terrific home advantage and our 60,000 fans make this a very intimidating place.”
Brown is right, Celtic have a trophy to win
There’s a real feeling around the place that Celtic’s Champions League qualifiers could shape their entire season. So much was made of the reaction to Lennon’s appointment as permanent boss in May and it was clear that the Northern Irishman would have to get off to a flying start.
So far he and the team have. But the recent wins over Nomme Kalju and St. Johnstone will be quickly forgotten about if Celtic falter against Cluj. Last year, our third round defeat to AEK Athens seemed to temporarily derail our season – with it taking until around October for our mojo to finally return.
Lennon and his players would receive a monumental boost if they can down Cluj and Slavia and make the group stage of the competition. It would convince fans that the club had made the right choice in giving him the gig. The whole atmosphere around the club would be lifted.
That’s where Brown is right about qualification being like a trophy. It would have the same effect.
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