CELTS’ DREAM DRAW
AS EURO GIANTS HEAD FOR GLASGOW, HOOPS CHIEF LAWWELL ADMITS...
PETER LAWWELL last night tagged Celtic’s mouthwatering Champions League draw as box office.
Brendan Rodgers and his team were handed a glittering Group B alongside German giants Bayern Munich, French super spenders PSG and Belgian big guns Anderlecht.
Elite stars such as Neymar, Edinson Cavani, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and James Rodriguez are all set for Glasgow’s East
End. Celtic will get their campaign started against PSG on Tuesday, September 12 and fans are already excitedly anticipating trips to the French capital, Bavaria and Brussels.
Lawwell confessed the draw could hardly have been tougher in terms of winning games and making progress on the continent.
However, for sheer magnitude of tie and excitement surrounding the matches, the Celtic chief executive admitted it is pure showbiz.
Lawwell said: “It could have been a little bit easier but it is box office. It is fantastic to have these clubs coming to our place, three outstanding clubs.
“Bayern Munich and PSG are top European clubs in everything they do. For them to be coming to Celtic Park will be a privilege and they will be brilliant nights.
“The same goes for Anderlecht because we have great history with them.
“We will welcome these clubs to Glasgow and give them the Celtic experience.”
With excitement levels going through the roof, Rodgers now has six days to get his squad in place for the challenges ahead.
Celtic have added South African defender Rivaldo Coetzee in the past week subject to a work permit and medical and are making progress on the capture of Patrick Roberts and look set to announce that shortly.
Rodgers is also working on other targets in the attacking department with six more glittering occasions in the group stage of the Champions League to add as a bargaining chip.
He said: “We bring players in, develop them and give them the Champions League stage. If they want to stay, fantastic. But there is also an opportunity to go.
“In terms of attracting and retaining players the Champions League is where people want to play.
“There are another couple of players we’d like to bring in and hopefully we can get them over the line.
“We are making progress with Roberts. There’s nothing certain and we are respecting Man City’s position.”
There is a real, real high regard for Celtic and the supporters of