Luke McCowan believes Celtic must be confident that they can defeat Bayern Munich after being drawn the German giants in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage play-offs.
McCowan, 27, has had quite the experience since joining the runaway Scottish Premiership leaders from Dundee last summer.
The Hoops are 10 points clear at the league summit; the Premier Sports Cup trophy is already sewn up in their cabinet and they have now reached the knockout stage of Europe's elite competition for the first time in 12 years.
The Celtic midfielder knows the challenge that poses his team to try progress beyond Bayern, yet he's ready to embrace every moment - even if they might have to do it without any away supporters in the ground due to an impending UEFA ban.
“We have to believe we can go through," he said. "If we didn’t think like that there would be no point in playing the games.
“The challenge for us is to qualify and we know it’s a really big challenge. But we have to believe it’s one we can get through.
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“You’re talking about a massive club and a very successful club in the Champions League.
“It’s going to be unreal and my first ever time at that stadium.
“It’s a bit surreal for me but the team is buzzing for it and looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m looking forward to coming up against the likes of Neuer, Kimmich, Sane, Kane. It’s incredible. Musiala is another one you watch.
“It’ll be great to see them in person and see the level they’re at. Hopefully we can try and match it.
“I’ve never been to the Allianz Arena before. I watched the Germany v Scotland game at the Euros in the summer - they had a lot of Bayern players.
“Even that showed how hard a place it is to go and get a result.
“I only just found out on Friday that’s where the Champions League Final is.
“So it will be nice to visit the venue. It will be a great occasion and hopefully one where we might come out on top.
“It’s a shame that the fans might not get to go. For a tie like that, you want every fan to go and enjoy it - and be safe.
“You want it to be a great occasion. As you saw on Wednesday night, the supporters made it.
“When we equalised and they all went mental, it was great.
“Hopefully the club can work with UEFA and the fans can go to Munich.
“I’ve got too many pals and members of my family wanting to go. I’ve no idea what it will be like trying to get tickets!
“They’ll be told if they’re going to be on their best behaviour."
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The second leg at the Allianz Arena will be almost four years to the day that he was on the losing side for Ayr United against Inverness Caley Thistle, emphasising how impressive his drastic rise to the top has been.
"You wouldn’t have pictured me four years ago doing this, that’s for sure," McCowan admitted. “But I’m a Celtic player now, I need to forget that.
“I’ve played in Champions League matches this season, like away to Dortmund - so that prepares you for games like this.
“I’m surrounded by boys who have experience with these types of ties so I’m learning from them every day."
In the immediate future, Celtic visit Motherwell, who are without a permanent manager following Stuart Kettlewell's shock resignation on Monday.
McCowan expects a reaction from the Steelmen, although he reckons a trip to Fir Park at any time is never straight forward.
“You’ll probably see a reaction from their players on Sunday," he said.
“You always get a tough game from Motherwell, you know what type of side they are.
“They’re robust and competitive anyway so it would have been a good game regardless.
“But I’m sure in their heads, that will be the motivation for them - to do it for their ex-manager.
“That’s a nice touch from them but from our point of view, we need to go there, put on a good performance and hopefully come away with a win."
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Celtic will be able to call upon new signing Jota, as the Portuguese winger prepares to make his second debut after arriving from Rennes this month.
Jota hasn't featured much since leaving Parkhead in July 2023, however McCowan revealed that the tricky playmaker seems to have slotted right back into the Celtic dressing room and is already lighting up training.
“He’s been amazing in training so far," he said. "He looked very sharp, just like the last time I watched him.
“I played against him when he was at Celtic before a couple of years ago.
“It’s great to have him in the building. I hadn’t met him before but he’s such a nice guy.
“He’s immediately gelled back in, probably just like he did previously.
“What will he bring to our team? He’s similar to Nicolas Kuhn. He takes the ball and travels with it.
“He drives forward, commits people and wants to get shots off or assist goals. So by doing that I’m sure he’ll help the team.
“I didn’t like watching him when I played against him. Because he was usually terrorising my team.
“But as a fan, I’d watch the derby games and some of the goals he scored in them were special. He had a swagger about him and hopefully he’ll have that again."
