Charlie Mulgrew reckons the Hoops can make their mark on Europe's elite competition
His three group stage campaigns over his two spells in charge of Celtic have delivered just two wins and brought 12 defeats from 18 games. Among the losses, there have been especially painful evenings in each of his three tilts at the tournament with the Hoops – going down 7-0 in Barcelona in 2016, 7-1 at Paris St-Germain in 2017 and then last season’s 6-0 humbling away to Atletico Madrid.
“Brendan has proved his quality. He’s proven it at Premier League level although, he’d admit, probably not at Champions League level. It’s not a competition he’s had loads of time in. But it’s something he said when he came back, that he wanted to do better in Europe. Hopefully he can bring that to Celtic.
Celtic will have eight games in the new 36-team league phase and need to finish in the top 24 to at least secure a play-off tie to reach the last 16. Mulgrew added: “You would imagine every one of the teams you play against will be top class. Former defender Mulgrew retains fond memories of that 2012-13 season when Celtic finished second in a group with Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow to reach the last 16 where they ultimately lost 5-0 on aggregate to a fine Juventus side. The highlight of the campaign was the famous 2-1 win over Barca at Celtic Park as Mulgrew and his team-mates triumphed despite having less than 20 per cent of possession over the 90 minutes.
“But there’s also a comfort there. You know that if you don’t have the ball in a league game, there will be people on our backs and the manager’s going to be fuming. If we spent a half without the ball, for example against Hearts at home, then there’s going to be an inquest at half-time from fans, from players, from management.
Champions League Charlie Mulgrew Neil Lennon Celtic FC Scottish Premiership
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