Celtic boss-in-waiting Brendan Rodgers his eyes on some big European nights as he prepares to seal a return to the Scottish champions.
After Ange Postecoglou left the Parkhead hot seat for Tottenham, a dramatic return for Rodgers seemed almost impossible given the bad blood created by the Northern Irishman's mid-season departure for Leicester City in 2019. But the position of supporters appears to have softened in recent days as he closes in on the job with a vision to make his mark on the Champions League group stage.
After lifting the Scottish Premiership title last season, Callum McGregor will lead the side out in Europe's elite competition once again next season and Rodgers is looking to improve on his continental record at Celtic - having struggled to make his mark on the Champions League or Europa League despite conquering Scotland. The discussions with principal shareholder Dermot Desmond and the board have centred on driving the club to to the next level and securing funding to propel the Hoops forward.
However, it may not just come down to spending power for Celtic with a tough route to the last 16 of the competition on the horizon when the draw is made. As it stands, the Scottish champions are waiting for their final pot to be decided alongside Newcastle United and Real Sociedad.
The final standings will be revealed when the victors emerge from the qualifying rounds but as it stands the club are likely to go into pot 4. For the Hoops to move up from Pot 4, five of the six qualifiers would have to have a lower coefficient than the Scottish Treble winners.
As it stands, only three of the 26 teams already in the groups will be ranked below Celtic in the draw - Union Berlin, Lens and La Liga side Sociedad. If they do land in pot four an uphill battle awaits - with a group of death almost a guarantee.
The nightmare scenario for Rodgers would see European champions Manchester City come out of pot 1, while Real Madrid could come out of the second group of seeding having run up an 8-1 aggregate scoreline against Postecoglou's side last term in the group stage. Semi-finalists from this season Milan also lie in wait in pot 3.
The best case scenario for Rodgers' European ambitions could be to see Sevilla come out of pot 1 - with the mid-table La Liga side being thrust in as top seeds after winning the Europa League. Familiar foe RB Leipzig could also be pulled out the pot 2 - with Celtic's stars likely to take confidence from their displays against the German side in this season's group stage.
While pot 3 is still to be finalised, Red Star Belgrade or Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk will be the two sides Rodgers' is crossing his fingers to land. However, it's unlikely that Celtic and their soon-to-be boss will find an easy path to glory amid their renewed European ambitions.
Champions League group stage pots
Pot 1: Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli. Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord.
Pot 2: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, FC Porto, Arsenal.
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg, Milan, Lazio, Red Star Belgrade.
Pot 4: Union Berlin, Lens.
Pot 3 or Pot 4 (decided after playoff round): Celtic, Newcastle United, Real Sociedad.
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