Celtic legend Chris Sutton has just sent a warning to the Hoops about their European campaign next season.
Celtic has a primary goal next season and that is winning the coveted 10-in-a-row league championship. However, while the moves will revolve around ensuring domestic domination, there will be another goal for the club.
That secondary goal will be to return to the Group Stages of the top flight of European competition in the form of the UEFA Champions League. Celtic will be looking to qualify for the Champions League after spending the last few seasons in the Europa League without much success.
Due to COVID-19, the Hoops could have a much easier path to the Group Stages, or quite possibly the opposite. New guidelines for qualifications get rid of home and away ties, and instead only one match will be played in each qualifying round. Essentially, it becomes a ‘do or die’ situation in every match. Furthermore, it does not appear that being ‘seeded’ has any real meaning and it will be random as to which club gets home field advantage.
Celtic legend Chris Sutton understands how tough this qualifying process could be, and he warned Neil Lennon in his Daily Record column:
"“Facing three one-off ties before the two-legged play-off round to get to the group stage is not ideal – but nothing is ideal right now and UEFA have had to find a way to pack in a lot of football in to a short space of time.“It’s understandable, but it doesn’t half take away the safety net. There can be no Lincoln Red Imps nights now, that’s for sure. Celtic will be walking a tightrope in the qualifiers and there won’t be much room for a dodgy 25 minutes, never mind an off night.“When there are two legs you always feel confident of taking care of business in the home leg, even if the way result is not quite the best.“Teams have said over the years they’ve found Celtic Park to be an intimidating environment and you can go back to my time at the club to see how strong we were at home.“That fear factor will be gone behind closed doors, but motivation shouldn’t be a problem for the Celtic squad.“They also can’t complain about getting caught cold. I know it’s a staggered start due to restrictions, but they will have about six weeks of pre-season under their belts and, hopefully, the Premiership will get under way on August 1 as planned.“It will be treacherous, but Celtic cannot afford – in every way – to miss out on the group stage for a third year in a row.”"
Again, Sutton is not wrong, and this could present a new challenge that has never been seen before for any club. But, that’s just it. Every club will be in the exact same position and Celtic could take advantage of that. It is quite possible that this new system actually plays into the hands of the Hoops qualification efforts.
In any case, it will be fun watching high-stakes European football when the qualifying rounds begin in August.