Celtic's Hatem Elhamed has his say on facing AC Milan, Sparta Prague and Lillie in Europa League

Defender not fazed by tough draw

Hatem Abd Elhamed believes Celtic have the strength to cope with a difficult Europa League group (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Celtic can meet Europa League power with their own, according to defender Hatem Elhamed, who refuses to be intimidated by a daunting draw that has placed Neil Lennon’s men in a section alongside AC Milan, Lille and Sparta Prague. Qualifying from Group H now looks an outside bet for Scottish champions but the Arab-Israeli believes they should “expect” to do so.

“They are good clubs, strong teams,” he said of the Europa League opposition when speaking to the club’s website. “But we are strong as well, and we expect to do a good job in Europe - at least the same as last season [when a group was won for the first time before a last 32 exit to Copenhagen] and even more, going to the next level.”

The play-off victory over Sarajevo, coupled with Rangers’ success at the same stage against Galatasaray, gives hope of a dramatic renaissance for Scottish football in continental competition. Currently lying 13th in the rankings, if both replicated their group showings from last season there is every possibility the country could leapfrog Turkey and Ukraine directly above them to claim an automatic Champions League place for the Premiership champions of 2021-21.

The Celtic manager believes the efforts of the Glasgow rivals to haul Scotland up the rankings - the nation was ranked 26th as recently as 2018 - ought to earn respect.

“I think it is fantastic what Celtic and Rangers have done and I feel we deserve a lot of credit for it,” he said. “I think over the last couple of years both clubs have done very well and raised the bar. We want to be at the forefront of that again. We had a great group stage last year, so we’re hoping for more of the same this season. Hopefully we can also get out of the group and take it into the knockout stages after Christmas.

“I really do think Celtic and Rangers deserve credit for what we’re doing also for Scottish football.I think it’s very difficult to do what we have. From our point of view, I think it’s our 10th straight group stage qualification – and that’s great. It shows real consistency.”

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