Bolingoli sets huge Europa League target for Celtic

The Belgian left-back endured a difficult start to life at Celtic Park but has found his footing since then, putting in impressive performances recently. And now Bolingoli has set a lofty target for his new club as they begin their Europa League campaign against Rennes on Thursday.

Boli Bolingoli might only be 23-years-old but he already has amassed extensive European experience during his short career. He has made a combined 34 appearances and scored 4 times in European competitions for Club Brugge, Rapid Vienna and most recently at Celtic.

The left-back moved to the Scottish Champions from Rapid Vienna in the recently concluded summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported £3-million. He endured a difficult start to life at Celtic Park, looking like a defensive liability in his first few appearances for the club and fans quickly became desperate to sign a new left-back. But the Belgian has found his footing since then putting in much more assured displays in recent games including a 2-0 win in the Old Firm Derby.

Bolingoli has already featured in the late eight of the Europa League during the 2014/15 season before going out to FK Dnipro. But the Belgian believes that the squad at Celtic is much stronger than the Club Brugge team that made the quarter-final five seasons ago.

Bolingoli insists that Celtic can make at least the Europa League semi-finals this season. Speaking to The Scottish Sun before Celtic’s Europa League season opener against Rennes, the Belgian said:

"“I have a lot of experience in the Europa League and I can’t wait to start with Celtic. I believe we can do something. I think we can go very far.“My experiences with Club Brugges and Rapid Vienna were nice. We were really happy to get so far.“Now with Celtic, we can do better than that. This is why I am looking forward to it starting.“It’s going to be a great season for us. I have this feeling because we have so much quality.“Celtic is not a club that goes to the Europa League just to be there, to do nothing.“Celtic is a big club and we want to represent the name of this club in the Europa League.”"

Neil Lennon’s side will have to put in a huge effort to make it that far in Europe with the added pressure of winning a record-equaling ninth straight League title in domestic competition. But Hoops fans will certainly enjoy a long run in the Europa League after failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the second straight season.