With Celtic’s place already sealed for this season’s UEFA Champions League group stage, Thanks to their victory last year on the Cinch Premiership title, our main rivals will have to go through the arduous task of the qualifying rounds. A treacherous graveyard for Scottish teams past and present, the sticky situation can often turn into a nightmare as it happens so early in the new season.
Celtic have faltered over the past five years on the rebound and will be greatly relieved that we don’t have to navigate that particular chaos on this occasion. Ange Postecoglou delivered European football in his first outing as Hoops boss, entering the Europa League by beating Az Almaar in the play-off round. In many ways, this was the catalyst for what followed; we came out of that tie with the belief that Angeball could work and that with the right support, this manager could win us trophies.
However, the Champions League qualifiers came too early in the Postecoglou revolution in the summer of 2021 and we succumbed to Danish side – and former Celt Erik Sviatchenko’s side – FC Midtjylland. In both legs, it was evident that the team was simply not ready for this task as we hadn’t even brought in any new signings and hadn’t had any competitive matches to prepare ourselves properly.
Now the rangers have this daunting task ahead of them, albeit a bit later in the day, but nonetheless a huge demand at the start of a new campaign. Livingston this weekend showed the rust that still prevails in much of their squad and it won’t be Martindale they face in the dugout this time around either. Union is likely to pose a much bigger threat up front and won’t play on their own goal if they take the lead.
The Belgian team coach has asked for help with scouting and team information from van Bronckhorst and brought in former Celtic goalkeeper Logan Bailly. Bailly was signed under Brendan Rodgers and barely made any appearances for the club, mostly acting as a second- or third-choice keeper at the time. Although he still knows all about Scottish football, having watched it closely since his departure.
The stopper is now goalkeeping coach at the Jupiler Pro League side and has given manager Karel Geraerts the inside of the Ibrox squad. Speaking to Nieuwsblad in his homeland, via Daily Record, Geraerts said: “They gave me information. Don’t make a mistake, the rangers don’t play classic Scottish football with lots of long balls.
“It’s a team that tries to build itself up and plays very attacking football. And of course they have a lot of strong players, like (Rabbi) Matondo, who we know from the Cercle. I asked my boys to start every match with the belief of winning. It’s no different now. Most only know (the) Rangers television or the Champions League, but tomorrow all this should not have an impact.
“Now it’s up to us to stay here. We imposed these preliminary rounds ourselves, there is no need to be afraid. My players don’t have stage fright. I think it could be a great European night.
Paul Gillespie