BELFAST TRIP HOLDS NO FEAR

ON THE issue of ticketing for their prospective engagement at Windsor Park, Celtic found themselves in that most unenviable of situations. Damned if you do. And damned if you don’t.

When the draw for the initial qualifying rounds of the Champions League was made on Monday, no one with a basic grasp of the real world needed anyone to explain the collective sharp intake of breath that accompanied Brendan Rodgers’ side’s likely pairing with Linfield next month.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Northern Irish champions must first overcome La Fiorita of San Marino, there was no playing down the significance of Celtic, a club with nationalist tendencies, facing a side from the opposite end of the political spectrum.

On any given week, even in 2017, it’s a fixture many could have lived without. Initially scheduled to take place one day before the traditional Orange Order marches, it represented nothing short of a logistical nightmare for all.

Reluctant to give up on the £1million they stand to make from a sell-out first leg, Linfield implored the Police Service of Northern Ireland to play the game on Thursday, July 13. In the end they were granted their wish, albeit it will take place a day later.

All along, Celtic’s dilemma was clear. By taking an allocation of tickets for Windsor Park, the club would have some sort of control over the matter of segregation. The flip side of the coin, of course, was that even a small percentage of circa 6,000 fans misbehaving could have dire implications.

In the end, the decision was made easier due to the advice of the PSNI. Officially, at least, Celtic will have no fans within a crowd that could rise to 18,000.

If it’s hard to argue with that outcome on public safety grounds, the decision has implications for the kind of atmosphere Celtic will face in their first competitive game of the season. It will be hostile. And then some.

For Leigh Griffiths, though, the prospect of putting the first foot on the road to the group stage in such a febrile atmosphere holds little fear.

‘I go to Tynecastle — that’s worse,’ he stated. ‘Going to Tynecastle is worse than any place I have ever been. It’s directed at me and (Scott Brown) Broony!

‘We know it will be a hostile environment but, if they do get through, hopefully it’s about us.

‘If we put in a professional performance, hopefully, we can come in with a decent lead and we look forward to the home leg.’

In a footballing sense at least, the prospect of Linfield holds little fears. It’s not disrespectful to state that in football there are levels and that Celtic operate on one significantly higher to that of the men from Northern Ireland.

Given the prize at stake, Celtic hardly need any extra motivation to get the job done. Perhaps just for good measure, they have some courtesy of a most unlikely source. Dave King’s claim that Celtic are not as far ahead of Rangers as they ought to be may have appealed to some in the Ibrox galleries, but it would have cut little ice with many still trying to banish the grim memories of last season. Thirty-nine points behind Celtic, King’s words have duly been noted across the city.

‘You can’t get beaten 5-1 (at home) and say it’s a good thing,’ insisted Griffiths. ‘I’ve been on the end of a 5-1 defeat in a Scottish Cup final (when Hibs lost to Hearts) and it will be talked about for ever.

‘The Celtic fans enjoyed that day and we proved that it should have been more than 5-1.

‘Behind the scenes, we have our own motivation. We have three trophies to defend and we know how difficult it will be.’

With Jonny Hayes effectively in for Patrick Roberts, Rodgers — in one sense — is starting the new season as he ended the last but in another is ahead of the game. As Moussa Dembele nursed a hamstring injury in the closing weeks of the campaign, Griffiths served up a timely reminder of his prowess in front of goal.

With the Frenchman now fit, picking a winner in the battle for the main striking role is the tallest of orders.

‘It was down to Moussa getting injured that I got my chance but I took it well,’ said Griffiths.

‘I don’t want to be going back on the bench for the season — I want to be playing.

‘I’m probably in the best form of my career so far and it’s one of those ones when you don’t want to be playing second fiddle. But the manager knows that. He knows he has two players who want to play week in, week out and it’s up to us to fight it out.

‘I think as it’s a new season, it will be 50-50 (for the jersey), it’s just about how hard you work in training, how well you’re looking, how sharp you are.

‘In the pre-season friendlies you need to show what you’re all about. The qualifiers come up very quickly, so he has to make his mind up pretty quickly about who’s going to be No 1.’

How much store will Rodgers put in Griffiths’ final contribution of the campaign? As far as having the last word is concerned, those free-kicks against England were surely more line, chapter and verse.

‘He texted me straight after the game and said he was impressed with how I played,’ said Griffiths.

‘Coming into pre-season last year, that was something he was wanting to improve and he’s seen improvement in that.

‘He probably wouldn’t have expected to be saying that at the end of the season I would be man of the match against England and score two goals, so it was nice to hear that from the manager.’

Speaking on the day that Hearts were unveiled as Celtic’s first opponents of the new season, Griffiths must have felt, more than ever, that the break between one campaign and the next is now almost imperceptible.

Having gone an entire domestic campaign unbeaten, coming close to matching the feats of last season is a task akin to climbing Everest while blindfolded.

‘I’d expect a stronger challenge from Rangers and Aberdeen to be up there again,’ added Griffiths.

‘The only recognised player (who has come in to Ibrox) I’ve heard of is Bruno Alves. He’s a good, solid defender and he will be a good addition.

‘I can’t say the same for the rest of them because I’ve never heard of them. We’ll soon see how quickly they adapt to the Scottish game and, if they can, then good luck to them.

‘We are under no illusions that the league is going to be tougher, but it’s about what we do.

‘If we are at our best, then no one will be able to live with us.’