Celtic played six European qualifying fixtures before the Scottish Premiership started last season; Ange Postecoglou's Hoops have qualified for the Champions League group stages after winning the title; Fixtures for the forthcoming Premiership season now out
Friday 17 June 2022 14:39, UK
Celtic have received a "big bonus" in automatically qualifying for the Champions League group stages this season, according to Andy Walker.
Having finished as Scottish Premiership runners-up in 2020/21, the Hoops entered the second qualifying round of the competition last term and lost 3-2 to Danish side Midtjylland.
They then dropped into the Europa League, which they qualified for after a pair of two-legged victories over Jablonec and AZ Alzmaar, and had played six European fixtures before the domestic season began on July 31.
A seemingly direct effect was the fact their league form stuttered throughout August and September - and Walker believes the extra rest will benefit Ange Postecoglou's side as they bid to win a second successive title.
Speaking after the release of the Scottish Premiership fixtures on Friday morning, he told Sky Sports: "I think the turnaround in Celtic's fortunes over the last 12 months has been remarkable. Ange Postecoglou has done a terrific job and everyone has bought into what he is going to do.
"Clearly he's going to bring in some fresh players and try to make some sort of impact on the Champions League. I know that's going to be really difficult. The big bonus for Celtic this year is that they don't have to go through those Champions League qualifiers. The players might get a bit of extra rest and I think that's important for all of the challenges ahead.
"Winning the title was a huge boost for everyone, but you see what Rangers have done on the European stage - and I think Celtic's European results have been really poor, so clearly that's where they want to improve.
"It's very difficult at Champions League level, bit we know now that if it doesn't go well you can drop into the Europa League. Celtic on the European stage need to improve and that's fair enough. That's a good target for everyone to try and achieve."
The first Old Firm game of the season is set to take place at Celtic Park on Saturday September 3 and, with Celtic having won two of the three meetings in the regular season on the way to the title, Walker suggests where the trophy ends up could hinge on the results of those matches once again.
"I think they are getting bigger and bigger with every passing year," he said.
"Rangers only lost three games last season, two of them were to Celtic - and I think that turned the title in Celtic's favour.
"I think every one of those games is hugely important, particularly given the fact that Celtic didn't drop many points at Celtic Park - they certainly didn't lose a game there. Those Celtic-Rangers games are proving to be more and more crucial."
Kris Boyd added: "For 10 years, Celtic ran away with the league, then Rangers ran away with it two years ago and Celtic and Rangers pushed each other last year and Celtic came out on top - and that's the way it should be.
"They are two fantastic football clubs, huge football clubs and they should be pushing each other all the way. I'm looking forward to it already."
Meanwhile, Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor is out of contract at Ibrox this summer and former team-mate Boyd says a decision on whether he will extend his stay at the club or move on to pastures new is imperative.
The 40-year-old has made over 300 league appearances for the Gers across two spells with the club.
"I think John McLaughlin has shown that he can step in," he said. "Whether he's ready to go and play a full season for Rangers is a different story.
"I would imagine that, if Allan McGregor doesn't sign a new contract, then Rangers will bring in another goalkeeper. Then it's a question of are you bringing in a goalkeeper to be second choice to John McLaughlin or are you bringing in someone that is going to be first choice. Those are decisions that Rangers are going to have to make.
"With McGregor, I think if you'd have said a few months ago this would have been his last season, but with the way the season finished for him, he probably wants more of it. It's a difficult one because when you come to the end of your career you might only play 10 games and then, all of a sudden, you feel maybe your time is up.
"Allan played the majority of the games last season and it's very difficult to walk away from playing 30-40 games because your fitness levels are there and you have shown you can do it at European level, won the Scottish Cup and pushed Celtic all the way in the league.
"From a Rangers point of view, you've got to respect that because he has done a lot for the football club, but I can understand Rangers will want to know what is happening soon."
Paul John Dykes from A Celtic State of Mind podcast:
"When you listen to Ange he's very ambitions when it comes to Europe, but we know how difficult that's going to be.
"You hope you are able to make an impression in the Champions League games but the priority remains the league and I'm sure there will be no complacency when it comes to retaining that league title.
"When you look at the way Ange approaches things you would hope we can keep this core group together for three or four seasons and see them develop as a team. Too often in the past there has always been one or two earmarked for big moves down south, and it's always happened.
"There's going to be interest in the likes of Kyogo and Hatate but you hope that doesn't happen for another three or four years. They're all playing together for the first time with a pre-season under their belt and there's that galvanisation effect of success."
Joshua Barrie from the Rangers Review:
"Back in April there was the whole discussion about squad overhaul and you think Connor Goldson is going. There are still contracts to be sorted out but now you have other players like Calvin Bassey who are going to command a big fee if they do go and if not you have an excellent player there.
"Goldson's staying for four years so that frees up money elsewhere in the market.
"Gio van Bronckhorst's European pedigree certainly gives you hope if you're a Rangers fan going into the Champions League qualifiers. I think both sets of fans will be optimistic and always makes for a good season."
