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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Aidan Smith

Celtic FC news round up: Champions League worry, Postecoglou's message to players ahead of Rangers and Ralston's Hampden statement

Celtic FC news round up: Champions League worry, Postecoglou's message to players ahead of Rangers and Ralston's Hampden statement

JUST a day remains before the final meeting between Celtic and rangers this season and the excitement is building.

Ange Postecoglou's Hoops can all but wrap up the league title, while Rangers are in do or die territory.

Sunday's game is set to be a cracker ahead of the clash here are your top Celtic stories of the day.

Champions League worry

CELTIC and Rangers will be on alert amid claims of a major Champions League revamp ahead of the 2024/25 season.

Reports have suggested that Europe's elite competition will open up two spots for clubs based on historical performance if they have not qualified for the tournament via the normal route.

This will also see the Champions League increase from by four from 32 to 36 participants.

Postecoglou's message to players

THE league may not technically be on the line when the teams step out at Celtic Park tomorrow, but everyone knows that if Celtic can avoid defeat to Rangers, the title race is over bar the shouting. There may be a fair old bit of that, too.

But while some managers may try to shelter their players from the expectation that will be on them amid the maelstrom in the East End of Glasgow tomorrow, Ange Postecoglou has urged his Celtic players to embrace the occasion and the challenge, and seize their opportunity.

Frankly, if they can’t handle the pressure and the demands to win games of such magnitude, Postecoglou’s feeling is they have no business wearing a Celtic jersey in the first place.

Ralston's Hampden statement

ANTHONY RALSTON, as a Celtic supporter, perhaps feels the defeats to Rangers more than most in his dressing room. But as a Celtic player, he isn’t about to let a loss like the one his team suffered in the Scottish Cup semi-final have even the slightest bearing on the game to come tomorrow at Celtic Park.

In fact, despite his boyhood allegiances and the fact he remains a Celtic fan, Ralston says he will be treating the match against Rangers as he would any other match against any other opposition, even though this time there is the added spice of a win all-but clinching the title for his team.

After all, that is the formula that has got Celtic into this position, so as Ralston deduces – why change now?

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