During the 12 long years which have elapsed since Celtic last made it through to the Champions League knockout rounds, suspicions the Glasgow club are no longer capable of mixing it with Europe’s elite have steadily grown.
The financial gulf between the Premiership in Scotland and the Bundesliga in Germany, Eredivisie in the Netherlands, La Liga in Spain, Ligue 1 in France, the Premier League in England, Primeira Liga in Portugal and Serie A in Italy has widened considerably in the past decade.
The leagues in Turkey, Greece, Austria, Ukraine, Denmark, Switzerland and the Czech Republic are all wealthier than the top flight in this country.
The Parkhead outfit’s recent outings in UEFA’s premier club competition have certainly done little to dispel fears the step up in standard is now too great for them – they finished bottom of their section in the past two seasons despite some laudable displays.
But will the revamped tournament, the draw for which will be made at the Grimaldo Forum in Monaco tomorrow evening, increase their chances of progressing?
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A move to a Swiss model this term will see participants play eight different teams, four at home and four away. The top eight sides in the 36-strong league phase will go into the last 16 automatically while those placed ninth to 24th will go into a two-legged play-off.
Charlie Mulgrew, who played on the last occasion that Celtic reached the last 16 back in the 2012/13 campaign, believes his childhood heroes can give fans of the first British club to lift the European Cup a campaign to cheer and remain involved beyond January because of the changes.
Mulgrew warned that every game Brendan Rodgers’ team will face in the next five months will still be hugely demanding. However, he saw positive signs in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, Feyenoord and Lazio last term and in the friendly wins over Chelsea and Manchester City this summer and is cautiously optimistic.
“There’s a manager in place right now who is the right man for the job in terms of that,” he said. “He’ll be working and doing things in the background that you don’t see in order to find out how he can do that. So I think it will come one day and hopefully it is this year.
“I’m sure the manager having had good experience at that level before - also managing Leicester in the Premier League with good results against Man City - he will know what it takes in the Champions League.
“They weren’t far away last year. They had a couple of good performances – not least Atletico Madrid at home, without getting the result. But it will be difficult this year and he knows it.”
Mulgrew continued: “But I think the new format will help them. You would imagine every one of the teams you play against will be top class opponents. But those teams will also know Parkhead is a tough place to come.
“You look at the Real Madrid game a couple of seasons ago. Although Celtic didn’t get the result, and it was a 3-0 defeat, the performance was unbelievable.
“Whatever the format of the Champions League, it’s going to be difficult no matter what. Celtic will need to be at it and well set up which I’m sure the manager will do.”
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Mulgrew helped Celtic draw with Benfica, beat Spartak Moscow home and away, record an epic victory over mighty Barcelona and go through to a last 16 double header against Juventus back in 2012.
So what was the secret of their success in the Champions League that season? The ex-Scotland internationalist believes that Neil Lennon’s pragmatic game plan was instrumental to the results they recorded.
“We were a team that accepted not having the ball,” he said. “The night before the game against Barcelona. Neil Lennon stood in the Nou Camp and held up a ball and said, ‘Have a good look at this, you’re not going to see it for a while’.
“Although it was a bit of a joke and a laugh, it was true. It was almost to say we probably wouldn’t have possession so there was no pressure to have the ball. It’s horrible, by the way. You’re chasing shadows for 90 minutes. But there’s a comfort in knowing that
“We knew we didn’t have the ball in a Premiership game there would be people on our backs, the manager was going to be fuming. If we spent a half without the ball, for talking sake against Hearts at home, then there would be an inquest at half time from fans, from players, from management.
“Not having the ball and being comfortable, that’s the difference. You’ve got to have the ball at some point, of course. I remember receiving it against Barcelona and you just felt they had three extra men on the pitch. Getting a throw-in you were thinking, ‘Yes! We’re doing alright here!’ Even though it was still in your own half!”
Rodgers suffered some heavy and humiliating losses against Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich during his first spell in charge in the East End of Glasgow because he wanted his side to continue playing attractive and attacking football in the Champions League.
Mulgrew, though, senses that he matured as a manager during his time in the Premier League with Leicester City and is better placed to negotiate the league phase than he was previously.
“Brendan at Leicester got a great result against Man City at the Etihad (they won 5-2 there in the Premier League in 2020),” he said. “He got it through having a great shape. They almost gave up possession, but then they hit them on the break with Jamie Vardy. So he’s showed he is now a manager who is adaptable.
“He’s proved his quality. He’s a real good manager and coach. He’s proven at Premier League level although, he’d admit himself, probably not at Champions League level. It’s not a competition he’s had loads of time in. But it’s something he said when he came back in that he wanted to do better in Europe. Hopefully he can bring that to Celtic.”
