Tonight’s game is totally winnable. There can be no excuses, nothing less than three points will suffice.

Tonight sees Celtic kick off our Champions League campaign under the lights at Celtic Park in what’s sure to be a brilliant occasion. Slovan Bratislava are our opponents and they are undoubtedly a decent side, as all teams at this level are, but it’s a game from our point of view that’s very winnable and it’s essential that we collect maximum points from a home game against a pot four opponent.

READ THIS…“This feels like the most ready I’ve been as a Celtic manager,” Brendan Rodgers

Brendan’s Celtic team is playing some good football at this moment in time, and more importantly we have that winning mentality. We also have the advantage of playing at home with a fantastic crowd behind us. A crowd that will make it a very hostile and intimidating environment for the Slovakian side and will inspire every player wearing a Celtic jersey.

Slovan are a side who should be respected as like ourselves they are champions of their domestic league, and also sit top of the their own domestic league at this moment in time, and have come through the qualifiers from the first round to the ground stages. That is a pretty special achievement and it shows that they have the mental toughness to play away from home in European football. Tonight the Celtic support must put that to the test and see if they can handle the Celtic Noise in all its glory and intensity.

Slovan is decent but that doesn’t mean that winning this game is beyond our reach. Far from it. With all due respect to Slovan this is a game we would have handpicked as our opening game if given the choice.

READ THIS…“The players deserve to be here. We have not come here as tourists,” Vladimir Weiss Snr

If we have any hope of doing well in Europe’s elite club competition then this is a game we must win. There can be no excuses, it’s all there in front of us to kick off with a valuable three points on board and if Celtic can get an unusually good start – we never seem to win our opening game – then chances are we’ll kick on from here and have an outstanding campaign.

ON CELTIC SHORTS…Seven Magnificent Years – Celtic announce Henrik Larsson biography

Slovan will sit deep and look for a point, or even to steal it with a breakaway or something from a set piece, so concentration at the back has to be paramount to protect Kasper Schmeichel’s clean sheet.  If we do that then we’ll be expected to win by a few goals, let’s get it done Celtic – and remember MAKE SOME NOISE FOR THE BHOYS all night long!

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

COMING SOON ON CELTIC STAR BOOKS…CELTIC IN THE THIRTIES, VOL 1&2 BY MATT CORR…