Celtic’s early Champions League fate has been decided today; we will be heading to Armenia for the first round of the competition.
The second round will be drawn soon, and I’ll post details when it is.
The task in front of us for these matches looks reasonably straightforward; the difficult bit, as we all know, will come in the two rounds after these. The real issue might be player readiness, but Scott Brown spoke about that yesterday and says it will not be an issue for us.
It shouldn’t be that big an issue anyway, although the nightmare in Gibraltar is a sure sign of what can happen when a team is not physically ready or mentally prepared. In those circumstances defeat at the hands of a minnow is not unthinkable.
The team will need to focussed on the tasks at hand. These are the first four games of an eight game spell which will decide the tenor of our season. Does it start with triumph or with disappointment? Does it start with us stronger than ever or will the press have a chance to talk this guff about how the gap can finally be closed?
Our first round opponents are the Armenian’s Alashkert FC. They are quite well known in certain circles because they knocked St Johnstone out of Europe in 2015-16. They were massive underdogs in that draw and they will be even bigger underdogs here.
But Armenia is one of those places nobody really wants to visit. It’s probably the worst draw from those teams we could have got. It’s at the ass-end of southern Europe, almost in Asia. It’s a brutal trip, and will be exhausting for all involved. The time difference is only 3 hours ahead, but it will feel a lot longer after a long flight.
Those games will be played on 10-11 July and 17-18 July respectively.