Inter will be perfect test for Celtic ahead of Champions League campaign

Published on 13/07/2012 01:45

CELTIC midfielder Kris Commons has highlighted the club’s pre-season clash with Italian giants Inter Milan as the perfect preparation for their Champions League campaign.

Celtic enter Europe’s premier club competition at the third qualifying stage and manager Neil Lennon and captain Scott Brown have targeted reaching the group stages. The Parkhead side also have friendlies against Ajax and Real Madrid, but it is the match against Inter – arranged as part of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations and a re-match of the 1967 European Cup final, won 2-1 by Celtic’s ‘Lisbon Lions’ – that Commons believes will help them with their European campaign.

“The way we’re preparing for the season and the Champions League qualifiers, our mentality will be to look for the win,” he told celticfc.net. “It will be good to play against an Italian team as well, to get a sense of their culture and an idea of what tactics they use. It will be a tough test, but it should be a good occasion.

“Hopefully there will be a good crowd to make it feel a bit like a European night. It will be like a warm-up for the Champions League qualifier in a way.”

Commons, 28, who has yet to taste Champions League football said: “I wasn’t aware of the Lisbon connection until recently but now I know the Lisbon Lions will be there to see the game [against Inter] and why. That will be great for them. It was such a massive part of our history and for John Clark and his team-mates to come to Celtic Park for the game will be really nice.”