Can Celtic FINALLY pick up points in Europe? | CCV and Johnston update, + Trusty OUT?

So there's really no need for me to look towards the top end of the Europa League table, so we'll focus right down there at the bottom, Celtic currently sit in 33rd place in the competition right now after two losses out of two only two goals scored and seven conceded losses to Ferencváros and Benfica respectively keep us way down there with only three teams below us the star-studded names of Arat Armenia Selje Lech Poznan Yeah, it's not gone so well, but it's also not gone so well for Celta Vigo, who are one of the other pointless clubs in this year's competition, two losses out of two and in 28th place, or joint 28th place right now as it stands, the only difference being the fact they have a better goal difference than Celtic, yeah, both teams really need a win tomorrow, desperate both of us? Yeah I would say so and that makes it a dangerous game for both sides, of course they come to a stadium where famously in Europe you would have a rocking atmosphere and a sort of fan base rallying behind the team, might not feel like that tomorrow but we certainly have the home advantage, Celta Vigo they come over here knowing that Celtic aren't a great side at the minute, desperate to get their first set of points, it makes for an interesting football game tomorrow night but I think, and I've said this a lot recently and I feel like I've said this a lot about European competition for a number of years now, but it truly feels like win or bust if Celtic don't get three points tomorrow night, especially when you consider the games that we have after Celta Vigo and some of the tough games that we play.

I would just find it really near impossible for us to qualify for the playoff stages and don't get me wrong, I said that last year, I remember coming back from Denmark when I was there and seeing us play Michelin in Herling and I remember saying that's it, we're out and somehow Martin Neil pulled off the miracle, somehow we qualified for the playoff round But I just don't think we can repeat that this year if we start 0-3 with no points on the board.

So this is a massive game for Celtic.

And Sunday certainly gives you a bit more confidence.

Look, Thursday night, last Thursday night, after the Benfica game, I didn't even want to think about this.

I didn't even want to go to the game.

I basically resigned all hope that we could win the game.

And I felt like that all through the weekend until we put away Hearts quite convincingly.

And I wouldn't say now I've been totally won over, I mean if you watched the Cynic Weekly, which I'll plug as usual from yesterday, I said to Hamish, I said to Chris, I'm still not expecting Celtic to win the game in all honesty, but I think as we get closer, weirdly, perversely, I'm starting to feel a little more confident in Celtic's chances... and maybe that's just out of necessity because we are so desperate, maybe it is just a complete faux confidence that's come over me and if that's the case, so be it I suppose, I still wouldn't be surprised if we come away from the game tomorrow with nothing, but I really do hope that we can go there and we can get something and use Sunday as a real stepping stone into some consistency now.

And that's what Celtic really need to do, I'm kind of sick and tired of the extreme highs and the extreme lows that I know that I suffer from but us as a collective, us as a support are suffering from right now, because it's not just about Celtic going from win to loss, that's bad enough, the inconsistency there, but it's the extreme feeling that comes with it, one moment you're riding high and the next you're genuinely lower than you've felt before, you look at LASK for example, winning 3-0 at home in a Champions League playoff round that's unheard of, to then get battered 5-1 the following week and talk about how managers need to go and some players shouldn't wear the jersey again, to then picking yourself up, starting the season domestically or starting the domestic season really, really good, to then get battered off Rangers twice in a week and once again questioning if the manager can stay on.

Ferencváros being tied in amongst that, to then returning from the international break, looking good against Motherwell and saying, oh, we might be okay, to then being battered off Benfica and once again having these same conversations, these extreme highs and lows, can't keep going, it's not healthy.

It's not healthy at all.

I don't mean, I mean, it's not healthy for the human heart, the human brain, for us as Celtic fans.

But what I mean by not healthy is it's just not healthy for the club.

It's not healthy for the players, for these same conversations to be rearing their head what feels like once every fortnight.

but there's only one real body that can control that right now with the window being shut and that is this group of players and coaches, so tomorrow night we need a result, we really need a result and we need to try and maintain some of that good feeling that came from Sunday's 7-1 win over Hearts, Celta Vigo they'll make a go of it, they absolutely will but yeah, simple as that, we need to do the same, we need to make a go of it, so A lot of different things we could talk about.

We'll try and do that as this match preview goes on.