Andrew Smith: Celtic are ready to rejoin the elite

THERE are game changers and then there is Celtic’s Champions League play-off on Wednesday. Without being over-dramatic about it, the ability of Neil Lennon’s men to avoid a two-goal defeat in the home return leg of their play-off tie against Helsingborg in midweek could lay the foundations for an unprecedented spell of domestic domination.

Conservative estimates for the worth of a place in the group stages to a club denied such a bounty in the previous three seasons can be set at £15 million. To put that in context, Rangers picked up the odd title during a decade Celtic were pre-eminent courtesy of the financial advantages derived from regular Champions League participation through resorting to an ultimately ruinous tax wheeze that saved them around £24m. And then they were obviously in a far stronger position than Charles Green’s current Third Division incarnation.

Throughout the 2000s, Celtic became an attraction to international-class talents, and retained a core of these, because Champions League participation allowed them to adjust salary levels accordingly. They may have cashed in on second-choice midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung this week, but holding on to their more integral young prospects for at least a couple of seasons is what the right result against the Swedish champions can make possible. That is a more important aspect of Celtic’s football development than adding to the current squad.

Indeed, although it has been said that, without the group stage earnings, Lennon will not be able to sign the centre-back and striker he desires, without such ties the need for outlay on such players ceases to stack up in a football sense as much as a business one. The current squad lost only to the eventual winners in the exceeding difficult Europa League group they were placed in last year; the tournament they will drop into should disaster befall them on Wednesday. Should it be avoided, the entire Scottish game would be a notable beneficiary. In the coefficient ranking table for countries covering results only from this season, Scotland lie a miserable 45th place. Were Celtic to earn a win and collect the four bonus points that entry into the Champions League group stage would earn, Scotland could move up around 20 places.

Such dry arithmetical concerns are not what sets pulses racing when pondering the daddy of all club football tournaments. And no one is a greater authority on the career satisfaction that can be derived from playing in the Champions League from a Scottish base than Lennon himself. He made 26 appearances in the competition proper, three more than the next best in this bracket, Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson. He cites these games as his career highlights – “oh yeah,” is his response to the suggestion they might be – and wants his players to experience the addictive quality of Champions League ties at a capacity Celtic Park.

“I’m still not convinced we are through the tie yet but it would be a great shot in the arm for myself if we could accomplish this, something I set out to do,” reasoned Lennon. “But I know we’ve one more big game to go and for me, the most important thing is for the players to play in the Champions League. They are young, they’ve got the talent and it will be a great chance for them to enhance their careers and develop their all-round games. It will be one of the reasons why they came to a club like this. I had some great nights. Even away from home when we lost some games, they were brilliant to play in. A real test of character; your concentration over 90 minutes has to be pinpoint. Sometimes we don’t see it but the pace of the games are electric.

“It was a step up from playing in the UEFA Cup with Leicester and internationals because you are playing with the best players in the world, at their clubs where they are regularly playing with each other. There are different systems to play against. It is just real quality. That first year we played Juve, and were beaten 3-2 in Turin, then had a 4-3 win at home. The two games against Rosenborg were phenomenally physical in terms of athleticism, and Porto were at the beginnings of their era. They were great learning curves for us, there is no doubt about that. Look I’m not saying we’ll do anything if we get through, we’ll just enjoy the experience and take it from there.”

The Helsingborg return is an experience Lennon doesn’t necessarily think he will enjoy. Of course, he is at pains to say all the right things about the tie not being over, how tough the game will be and how good the opposition proved themselves to be. Even allowing for a consummate performance from Fraser Forster, what the Swedes suggested they weren’t particularly good at was capitalising on their chances.

Celtic, in hitting the goalframe twice and passing up two good opportunities of their own, and causing havoc down the left through the explosive run of second-half substitute James Forrest, weren’t entirely flattered by the 2-0 victory. They appeared vulnerable in defence and lacked a midfielder willing to do a screening job for his back four, with options limited as a result of injury to Beram Kayal. The return of Victor Wanyama from suspension will prevent Celtic being, as Lennon admitted, “too loose for my liking” in a fraught first half.

It is inconceivable that they will be so loose in the return that they could be forced out of the Champions League.