Two draws with Man City give Celtic's Kieran Tierney hope

Celtic's Kieran Tierney and Olivier Ntcham meet the media after the Champions League groups stage draw. Picture: Paul Devlin/SNS

The Scottish champions were bottom seeds in the Monaco draw and on first look it appears that the German giants and the free-spending French club are clear favourites to qualify for the knockout stages from Group B.

But Tierney believes the Celtic squad can take heart from their group stage performances last year when Brendan Rodgers’ side also secured a creditable draw in Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach.

He said: “You seen what happened last year. Man City are looking to win tournaments like this and we drew with them twice.

“So it gives us confidence. Last year was a first taster for Champions League football for a lot of us and it was a good experience going into this season.

“It is a hard draw but we knew were going to get that. I am looking forward to it.

“You are always confident, there is no reason why not. We are there for a reason.

“We have done well in the qualifiers to get there so we will go in there confident.

“We will work hard on the training ground and do our best.”

The Scotland defender is hoping to have Patrick Roberts back beside him in the Celtic Park dressing room for the start of the group campaign.

The 21-year-old winger returned to Manchester City at the end of last season following an 18-month loan spell and there has been almost constant speculation of his possible return to Glasgow on another temporary contract.

Tierney said: “There has obviously been a lot of speculation but I hope he is (returning).

“I have been speaking to him and there have been jokes going on on social media which we send to each other which is funny. But yes, I hope he is.”