McLeish issues bold Celtic Champions League claim
Alex McLeish has claimed Celtic will be confident going in to the Champions League group stage.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Rangers boss suggested it’s good for both clubs to be below the top seeds.
The Gers are yet to qualify for the European competition after drawing 2-2 with PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their playoff on Tuesday (16 August).
They will play the second leg in Eindhoven next Wednesday (24 August) where they will be looking for a win to take them into the group stages.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were automatically entered into the group stage after winning the Scottish Premiership last season.
Uefa confirmed the group stage draw will take place next Thursday (25 August).
The top two teams from each group will progress to the next stage of the competition.
The third placed teams will go into the Europa League knockout stages, with the fourth placed teams missing out on any further European football.
McLeish insisted Celtic will be looking forward to the group stage game.
“They’ve started with confidence, there’s no reason for them not to have a good start to the Champions League campaign,” he told Football Insider.
“If Rangers get through then they’re in a pot but they’ll be lower than the top seeds. That’s the same with Celtic but they’re straight into the pot.
“That is something they can really look forward to and they will want to try and establish themselves in that small league table in the same way that they’ve started the season.“
In other news, Frank McAvennie has suggested Stephen Welsh could be handed new role after Celtic transfer update.