TALKING CELTIC
CHAMPIONS League football. Chill autumn evenings with the brightness of the floodlights illuminating the darkness of the sky, the crackle of electricity in the air as the tension in the stadium ebbs and flows in tandem with events on the pitch.
Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew knows what it is all about.
The versatile Scotland internationalist has been at the heart of Celtic teams that have taken some big-name scalps in Europe’s premier competition – Barcelona included – and he is desperate for another crack at the big guns next season.
There is nothing that quite compares to it on a domestic level. There is something unique about the challenge of going toe-to-toe with Europe’s heavyweights and Mulgrew believes that Celtic are once again prepared to aim some punches abovee their weight.
Holding their own in that t environment is one thing,, but getting there is quitee another.
Negotiating three quali- fying rounds is fraught, something that Celtic require no reminders of.
“A lot has changed since last summer,” Mulgrew said. “It was early days for the manager and he was still getting his ideas across.
“Having to adjust to that was hard but we’re much more prepared this year and will be ready when it comes.
“It’d be massive to do it again because everyone here wants to be involved in it. We will all be striving for that and they are the kind of games that bring the best out of you as a player and really get you going.
“The fans love them, the players love them and everyone involved in the club loves them but it’s up to us to get us there.”
Mulgrew hopes to prepare for the summer qualifiers by getting some game time when he is on Scotland duty next week.
Despite being on the sidelines for the last five months, Mulgrew was recalled to Strachan’s squad for the international challenge match against Qatar next Friday night and the critical Uefa European Championship qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.
Ideally, it will give him the opportunity to build on the minutes he got in Celtic’s final two games in order that he is fully fit by the time the qualifiers roll around.
The first game takes place mid-July and although that first qualifier is one that Celtic should come through unscathed, the bar gets higher as the rounds go on.
MULGREW ought to be in a position to hit the ground running when pre-season gets underway and he is optimistic that he will rejoin his Celtic colleagues having had some significant results with Scotland.
“I spoke to Gordon Strachan and I knew if I was fit that there was a good chance I’d be in the squad, but I’m thankful that he’s involved me after being out for so long,” he said.
“It’s now up to me to repay him for his faith in me when I turn up there and do the best I can in training. Hopefully I can get involved in the matches but you just approach it like any other game and try to do your best by helping the team win.”
In terms of its importance to the group, it is difficult to downplay the meeting between Scotland and Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland team.
Strachan’s side took first blood back in November when they beat the Irish at Celtic Park but Mulgrew, who took the man of the match in that one, believes that whatever the outcome of the tie in Dublin, nothing will be decided just yet.
“It’s too soon to say whether it’ll decide who qualifies between us but it is a big game,” he insisted.
“We can’t look on it as having an immediate impact on whether we qualify or not, we just have to do our best and hopefully get a result.”
And despite the current wave of optimism about the national team and the hope that they can qualify for France next year and end an 18-year wait for representation at a major international tournament, Mulgrew has warned that Scotland have achieved nothing yet.
There has been a massive turnaround in the atmosphere around the national team since Strachan’s arrival but Mulgrew is well aware that for that to continue the results must keep coming.
“It has been a good campaign but we haven’t done anything yet so we are not getting too carried away,” he told The Celtic View. “We’re enjoying it but we want to qualify.
“These are the type of games you want to play in and the matches you want to be involved in so you can get to the top stage but we’re nowhere near it yet. We’ve made a good start but that is about it.” Celtic connection...Gordon Strachan has recalled Mulgrew to the Scotland squad