LENNON HAILS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DOUBLE BOOST
NEIL LENNON has welcomed the news that Scotland will now be upgraded to two Champions League places from next season.
Olympiakos’s Europa League defeat to Wolves on Thursday ensured Scotland will be placed no lower than the watershed rank of 15th when the 2019-20 edition of UEFA’s two main tournaments play to a conclusion later this month.
With Celtic and Rangers progressing to the knockout stage of the Europa League, Scotland’s co-efficient grew to the point where it now sits 14th in the continental rankings.
Only Switzerland, who retain Europa League interest through quarter-finalists Basle, can assail that position. Speaking on the eve of the draw for the new season’s first qualifying round, Celtic manager Lennon admitted the game will benefit from enhanced exposure.
He said: ‘It’s fantastic that Scotland will have two Champions League places from next season. It’s also great news that the
champions — hopefully us — play just three qualifying rounds instead of four.
‘We’ve waited a long time and it’s a much-needed boost for the country — and testament to how well the teams have done in Europe of late.
‘You have to negotiate difficult qualifying rounds and they come early but you know the rewards at the end of it.’
As football readjusts in the wake of coronavirus, the schedule for the 2020-21 qualifiers will be condensed into a single-leg knockout format.
The process carries risk but the delayed September start reduces the annual fear of Scottish clubs being caught cold against opposition deep into their domestic campaigns.
‘We’ve had a longer pre-season, although obviously not as many games we’d normally have, and we’ve made a great start domestically,’ said Lennon, who takes his side to Rugby Park for the second Premiership match of the season today. ‘We’re just waiting to see what the draw brings. With them being one-legged ties, the more home ties we can get, the better.
‘With the way things are, you don’t know what you’re going into in some countries but at least if you get a home tie, there’s a familiarity with protocols and the environment.
‘Ideally, we’d want a home tie but it’s one leg and we have to get it right on the night, whether it’s home or away.
‘The fact there’s no crowd negates home advantage a bit but we don’t know who the opposition will be, whether they’ll play on a plastic pitch or what the stadium will be like, so it’s about keeping an open mind and being best prepared.’
Thus far, Lennon has made just two summer signings, adding goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas to his squad and renewing Mohamed Elyounoussi’s loan deal. He remains intent on adding another striker to his armoury ahead of the European games, with a loan move for West Ham United’s Albian Ajeti back on the agenda after a bid for Peterborough front man Ivan Toney was rejected.
Steven Fletcher, available on a free after reaching the end of his deal at Sheffield Wednesday, also remains an option.
A staggered process will see UEFA determine the make-up of the first qualifying round today, with the second round being drawn tomorrow.
The later stage could see Celtic again pitted against Romanians Cluj, who knocked Lennon’s men out of the qualifiers last season before the teams then traded blows in the Europa League group stage.
‘There is a familiarity there because we played Cluj three times last year, so at least we would know how stiff the opposition would be,’ added Lennon. ‘We probably want to avoid that one if possible.
‘Again, we can’t think about last season in terms of any disappointments. We must look at what we can build on. We have put some good foundations there with the Europa League run and we are looking to go one better now.’
Lennon savoured Champions League nights as a Celtic player and was part of Gordon Strachan’s team that made it to the knockout stage in 2007. He repeated that feat as manager, achieving a career high with the defeat of Barcelona along the way.
Celtic have not made it to the tournament’s group stage for two years and he covets a return to the big stage.
‘We would dearly love to have it back,’ added the manager. ‘Ideally, you would want the supporters in as well to see it but in the short term that is not going to be possible.
‘For the players, it is an opportunity to enhance their careers and the reputation of the club. It would be fantastic to accomplish that and it is certainly not beyond us.
‘It is a blue-riband event. It is fantastic to play in it — it tests you mentally and physically but you feel really good after it. Especially when you win.’