Brendan is right, we need to be realistic, but we can still dream…
Brendan Rodgers spoke yesterday regarding the aspirations of the Celtic support when it comes to the champions league. Brendan says that while it’s good to dream we need to be realistic, and that is the one hundred percent truth. He’s bang on the money.
At his media conference ahead of Sunday’s trip to Aberdeen, the Celtic manager was asked how close is he to having a squad, with depth, that is ready to compete in the Champions League group stages. Here’s Brendan’s response to that question:
“It will always be a challenge. By the time you get to mid-September and the Champions League comes, this group will be even better in terms of depth and how we want to both play and work. That is over a month or so away, I like to develop teams and improve players. With odd weeks or so until that first game I think we will be in a better place.
“I think with the squad that we have here it is always going to be a bigger challenge. I like to dream about doing big things with Celtic but I am also a realist. I know when we arrive at it we will be giving it our very best shot into the competition and will see where it takes us,” Brendan Rodgers said.
That begs the question, what is realistic in the eyes of the Celtic supporters? Last 16? Maybe even last 8? Third place finish to enter the Europa?
Of course we should be looking to reach the last 16 that should be the target. It’s not within the realms of possibility, it can be done. It has been before. That should be our ambition as a club, and to do so on a regular basis.
But of course as we all know it is easier said than done, and that is exactly the point that the manager was making yesterday afternoon. We are fourth seeds so we will be looking at a tough group, knowing our luck it will be the toughest group as usual!
My personal opinion is that we should be aiming high and look to qualify from the group, if not a third place finish and then a crack at the Europa League.
As a support we are realistic enough to know we don’t have the financial muscle to compete at the latter stages of the competition, that goes without saying. We do however have the finance and the quality to be at least competitive in the group stage.
There are usually one or two teams in pots two and three that you look at ahead of the draw and think, we could have a realistic chances against them, while on the other had there are always a club usually in pot one who find themselves in pot two this time around, and invariably they get drawn against Celtic!
We know we ain’t going to win it or even reach the latter stages, but the least we can expect is to compete and not be whipping boys. That’s realistic. Last season we got two draws from six games. We should have won both of those games and the reason we didn’t was due to poor finishing. Sort that and we have at least European football after Christmas.
That ultimately is a realistic target and anything less will be a disappointment. That’s probably the best answer I can give Brendan on behalf of a realistic Celtic support. Beyond that we enter dreamland but this is the Fairytale club is it not?
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
