Celtic head in to tonight’s home Champions League tie against Slovan Bratislava with eyes firmly set on achieving three points, and with it our first ever win in our opening Champions League game since the rejigged European Cup competition began in the early 1990s.

Let’s all be honest here, if we are to prove that we aren’t just a club living off our history and that we can actually compete at the top table of European competition, then this is a game we must win. It’s a simple as that.

Now I am in absolutely no way dismissing the challenge that is in front of us but I can’t imagine we will ever be presented with a bigger opportunity in UEFA’s top tournament than the one we have this season. If we are ever going to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League again, then this is the season to do it. Being handed a home tie against a team from Slovakia on the opening day is a opportunity we must not let slip through our fingers.

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Vladimir Weiss, the manager of Slovan Bratislava, is a wily old fox. We of course have came across him before when he, rather memorably, led Artmedia Bratislava to a shock 5-0 win against Celtic that left Gordon Strachan’s post Martin O’Neill reign in ruins. A 4-0 win in the return leg helped keep the naysayers off Strachan’s back for a while but obviously still wasn’t enough to see Celtic advance.

Weiss will turn up to Celtic Park with a concrete plan to get something out of this game, and if Celtic aren’t fully ready to remain switched on and give it everything over the 90 minutes then I don’t doubt the Slovakian manager could once again pull off a shock result.

After all, no matter what way you look at it, a shock result it would most certainly be. This is Slovan Bratislava’s debut Champions League campaign. Despite having a team containing more than a few internationally capped players, when it comes to the two squads the gap in transfer fees and wages are huge.

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We often complain after a European campaign that the vast gulf in finances between the likes of ourselves and Europe’s elite is too expansive. In this tie however the shoe is on the other foot. Compared to Slovan Bratislava, we are the big spending club.

We pay wages that most of their players only dream of. We are firm favourites in the betting for a reason. We must play like the big club however. How many times have we went to the big clubs across Europe and been swept aside with ease? Time for us to do the same.

When I watched the Champions League draw and saw the 8 opponents Celtic would face my first thought was we will never get an opportunity like this again. Honestly, if you were to have hand picked the teams from each pot you wanted to face it wouldn’t have looked much different than what we got.

Last night pretty much proved my point, with both Dinamo Zagreb and Young Boys being steamrollered. I’m hoping the Celtic players and manager have seen this and reminded themselves that we have a huge opportunity to make our mark this season.

On top of being handed a favourable draw, Celtic themselves have started this season looking a formidable outfit. Last year was always going to be a transitional season as Brendan Rodgers tried to convert the players who were used to playing under Ange Postecoglou’s strict instructions to try and adapt to the style of play the Carnlough man envisaged for this team.

It took a while but you are certainly seeing it now. We all enjoyed Celtic’s attacking style under Ange but I have to say, what I am seeing under Brendan this season looks a lot better fit for a Champions League campaign. We look a lot more solid defensively, and although we aren’t quite as gung-ho as we were under the Australian, we still look incredibly potent in attack. A more controlled patient game may be what’s required on this stage.

There should be no excuses this season. The manager got pretty much what he wanted in the transfer window and has finally trimmed the squad and moulded it into what he wanted. Less quantity, more quality. We have thankfully also managed to negotiate the first few months of the season without any big injury worries. We are going into tonight at pretty much full strength.

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It’s time for this team to step up to the plate and start to restore our clubs reputation in Europe. No more gutsy losers. Time to show what we are all about. A win tonight will give such a boost of confidence as we look towards the remaining fixtures. The fear we sometimes show on this stage will disappear rapidly.

We have a huge opportunity in front of us this season. Time to release the shackles and show we are serious about restoring our reputation on the continent. Time to show people the real Celtic.

It all starts with a win tonight.

Conall McGinty

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