By Mark Atkinson

Copyright scotsman

Make no mistake, Celtic would rather not be playing this midweek. Nothing against Red Star Belgrade, their opponents on Wednesday in the Europa League, but Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, his players and the club’s directors will have watched with envious eyes last week when the Champions League kicked off. After three successive stints in the main phase of European football’s premier competition, Celtic were on the outside looking in. That is the reality of a botched play-off job against Kairat Almaty last month, when an under-resourced Celtic team drew 0-0 not once but twice with the Kazakhs before falling in a penalty shoot-out. Last Thursday night, Kairat lost 4-1 to Sporting CP in their maiden Champions League fixture. Next week they welcome Real Madrid to the Central Stadium. No doubt the current Celtic team, reinforced by the late transfer window signings of Marcelo Saracchi, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Sebastian Tounekti and Kelechi Iheanacho, would have made a better fist of the matches against Kairat. The club’s hierarchy have paid a high price for not executing deals quickly enough. As well as missing out on nearly £40 million of revenue – the maximum Celtic can earn by winning the Europa League is roughly £30m – there have been protests against the board, while Rodgers has been vocal on the club’s recruitment policy. There is also the small matter of a member of Celtic’s hierarchy briefing against the manager. Rodgers and the players have done well to blank out such off-field dramatics since returning to domestic football following the international break. They needed a last-minute goal to win 2-1 at Kilmarnock and slickly despatched of Partick Thistle 4-0 last weekend to reach the Premier Sports Cup semi-final. The opposition steps up a few levels on Wednesday night. Celtic dropped into the Europa League as a consequence of losing to Kairat. They have not played in this tournament since the 2021/22 season, when they failed to advance from a group containing Bayer Leverkusen, Real Betis and Ferencvaros. They finished third and were parachuted into the Conference League knock-outs, where Bodo/Glimt eliminated them 5-1 on aggregate. Rodgers has spoken consistently of his desire to progress Celtic in Europe and since losing to the Norwegians three years ago, the trajectory has been mainly upwards. Under Ange Postecoglou, Celtic finished bottom of a group including Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk. But in the next season under Rodgers, Celtic got a win under their belts against Feyenoord despite failing to advance past them, Lazio and Atletico Madrid, while in the last campaign, the Glasgow side broke through the ceiling. In the first campaign in a 36-team ladder format, Celtic defeat Slovan Bratislava, RB Leipzig and Young Boys, drew with Club Brugge and Atalanta and lost only to Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa on their way to reaching the knock-out phase play-offs. They acquitted themselves well against Bayern Munich, losing 2-1 at home and drawing 1-1 away. It felt like Celtic had cemented their position amongst high-brow company. So it stings to be back in the Europa League, alongside Old Firm rivals Rangers. Celtic must navigate eight matches between now and the end of January, starting at Red Star Belgrade. The rest of the fixtures read Braga (h), Sturm Graz (h), Midtjylland (a), Feyenoord (a), Roma (h), Bologna (a) and Utrecht (h). There are some eye-catching ties. The visit of Roma – who are also due to play at Ibrox – will feel like a Champions League game. Trips to Feyenoord and Bologna will not be easy. Starting off at the notoriously hostile Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade is far from straightforward either. Red Star are the top team in Serbia and had their own Champions League play-off blooper by losing to Cypriot side Pafos. Taking care of business at home will be crucial to Celtic’s hopes of progress. Ten points was the magic number last season in the Europa League to reach the knockout phase play-offs. Fourteen was the lowest total to advance directly to the last 16, achieved by Rangers. Tottenham Hotspur won last season’s competition by beating Manchester United 1-0. Despite their managerial upheavals, Rangers made the quarter-finals before losing to Athletic Bilbao. Aston Villa are the early favourites to win the competition, closely followed by Roma, Porto, Nottingham Forest and Bologna. Celtic currently rank as 25/1 shots – their chances rated much higher than Rangers at 66/1. It is a competitive tournament but not graced by a bona fide European giant. If Rodgers can get his team motoring again, there is little to be afraid off. Celtic are accustomed to playing teams of at least this calibre, if not better. Right now, Celtic are a diminished version of what they were 12 months ago. But with the transfer window closed, Tounekti and Co in place and the focus largely on on-field matters, Rodgers should be eyeing a proper run in the Europa League. They have never reached the last 16 in ten attempts since the competition’s inception. Putting that right should be the minimum expectation for Celtic this time around.