Champions League: Martin O’Neill urges Celtic to chase European glory despite improbable odds
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill believes the club should continue to chase Champions League glory regardless of how improbable it feels.
The Bhoys famously lifted the European Cup, as it was known then, in 1967, overcoming Inter Milan 2-1 in the Lisbon showpiece.
And O’Neill, who won the competition twice as a player with Nottingham Forest, thinks the current Scottish champions must aspire to match that feat despite the realities of modern football.
After suffering an early exit to Kazakh side Kairat in the qualifying round last term, Celtic face Austrian side LASK in Wednesday’s Champions League play-offs with renewed hope.
O’Neill urges Celtic to keep dreaming
During Tuesday’s pre-match press conference, O’Neill spoke about Celtic’s storied relationship with the European Cup and the need to keep dreaming.
“I think that the bar was set down way back in 1967,” he said on Sky Sports.
“From then on, I believe that Celtic should be aspiring to that.
“We may never, ever, ever get there and obviously with the way that the financial market has moved in football, it’s getting more and more difficult for a team from Scotland.
“But that aside, you should still be aspiring to it – and that’s what we want to try and do.
“We may never get there, but this is the bar that’s been set down.
“That’s what we should be trying to do, and we’ll make an all-out effort to try and make it.”
Champions League fate in players’ hands
On righting the wrongs of last season’s play-off disappointment, O’Neill added: “I think that the players who are still at the football club, they may well remember it – they may well think that they’ve got something to try and achieve this time.
“But overall, I think we’re just trying to look forward to the games, trying to get a result in the matches, and trying to get through.
“I like the players that we’ve signed.
“Over the course of the season, whether it’s in the Champions League or whether it’s in the Europa League, it’s up to the players now as much as anything else.
“I think the quality that we’ve brought in will bear fruit during the course of the season.”
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