Celtic’s Scott Brown on Europa League vs ten in a row

Captain reveals Champions League frustration and where priorities now lie

Celtic captain Scott Brown promotes the club's forthcoming book about nine in a row. Picture: Craig Foy/SNS

Scott Brown has insisted Celtic won’t place their quest for a record 10th consecutive domestic league title ahead of their remaining European ambitions this season.

Following their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Ferencvaros last month, Celtic will begin their Europa League campaign with a single leg third qualifying round tie against Riga in Latvia on Thursday evening.

If they progress, the Scottish champions will then face either Bosnian side Sarajevo or Buducnost Podgorica away from home in the play-off round on 1 October.

Celtic reached the last 32 of the Europa League last season, topping a group which included Lazio, and Brown says another lengthy run in the tournament is now the “main thing” for his club this season.

He is dismissive of any suggestion European football’s secondary competition has less significance because of Celtic’s historic bid to retain their Premiership crown and eclipse the nine-in-a-row record they currently share with Old Firm rivals Rangers.

“No, we don’t buy into that,” said the Celtic captain.

“The Champions League wasn’t to be for us this year, but we had a great run in the Europa League last year.

“Here’s hoping we can get another good group and get out of it again this season. But the main thing is getting into the group stage in the first place. We want to be in Europe. We have a huge game on Thursday we need to win. If we get through, we have another one to deal with in the play-off round but we want to be there.

“The disappointment of the Champions League takes time to shake off, definitely. But you can’t let it get into your mind. It was a few weeks ago now and we have a long season ahead of us. We were all devastated not to do it in the Champions League but the Europa League is the main thing for us now as a club.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director