Celtic are a club with some big ambitions on and off the pitch as the 2017-18 season gets underway.
They have to be, following an invincible domestic campaign and a return to the Champions League group stage last season. Manger Brendan Rodgers didn’t really help ease the pressure, talking most of the second half of last season about a lofty goal for this season — the knockout stage.
Rodgers has plenty of the pieces in place for a run i Europe, and they are one step away from the group stage once again. Standing in the Bhoys’ way is Kazakhstani club, Astana.
If anyone is going to take this tie lightly, they certainly aren’t showing it in the lead-up to the match. Nor are they saying it publicly. Star striker, Leigh Griffiths, has made that clear.
He firmly believes this tie is a ‘make or break‘ one for the Hoops season according to an interview in The Guardian.
"“Last year it set us up on a great platform. We knew it was a difficult group but having Champions League football back at Celtic Park after two disappointing years previously was massive for everybody involved. If we can get back into the group it will put everyone on a real high. The fans will be shouting from the rooftops and it will make the start we’ve made to the season worthwhile.”"
That last part is likely to be true for the full 90 minutes on Wednesday night. What, with the Green Brigade back in the stands and European nights being what they are at Celtic Park to begin with.
Winning at home seems imperative if Celtic want to stamp out Astana’s hopes for an upset and the riches that come with making the group stage.
Some in the Celtic fanbase almost seem as if this hurdle is more a speed bump. But, let’s not forget that it took a wonder-strike from James Forrest to get Celtic beyond Rosenborg last round and a 3,000-plus mile trip to Kazakhstan isn’t easy either.
Let’s also not forget it took a nail-biting tie with Astana last season as well, and this side isn’t too much different from the one we saw last year from the visitors.
While the fans may not be sure how to view this tie, Griffiths and the team are certainly taking it like its Barcelona coming up on Wednesday night.
“I don’t think about losing,” Griffiths said, via The Guardian. “We as a club don’t think about losing. I only think about the Champions League group stages. I don’t think about the Europa League.”
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Hopefully the talk in the pre-match equals the production on the pitch during the match.