Fran Alonso believes that Celtic are ready for the demands of Champions League football as they ready themselves for a potentially gruelling process of making it to the group stages of the tournament.
Celtic face Brondby this afternoon in Oslo as their Round One semi-final game. If successful they will play the winners of Valerenga and Minsk in Saturday’s final. If they lose the weekend game becomes a dead rubber as they play for a third-place spot.
The final winners then progress to Round Two but Alono’s immediate focus is inevitably on the challenge provided by the Danes.
Celtic have just one point of reference for the Champions League – the exit to Levante at this stage two seasons ago with Alonso believing that his side is far better placed now than what they were then.
“We are very excited and looking forward to it,” he said.
“It is an amazing feeling to get to this stage but I think it is less overwhelming now than what it was the first time we qualified.
“It was a little bit overwhelming for us to play a team like Levante in that very first Champions League game. They were flying in Spain at the time.
“I think we are better prepared for it now and I also think that we are in better form.
“We had gone into that game two years ago with players who hadn’t played together yet. This time I feel that we are going into it in a far stronger position.
“We have won our opening five games, scored 34 goals and that is not an easy thing to do.
“We are playing quite well. I think it will be a competitive and difficult game but hopefully we can get a good result.”
Alonso, meanwhile, expressed his sympathy for the Spanish women’s side who won the World Cup last month.
Their achievement was overshadowed by the behaviour of Luis Rubiales and the fall out which ensued. The latest in the controversy came yesterday afternoon with the dismissal of manager Jorge Vilda.
Montse Tome has been named as his successor, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
“It is sad,” he said. “It is the biggest achievement for women’s football in Spain.
“I am not inside the Spanish national team but what I saw was inappropriate. It damages everyone in the federation but for me, I feel so much for the players.
“We should be talking about good a team they are, not about three or four individuals.
“They are champions at senior, under-20 and under-17 level and are world champions and I hope this is the start of a new chapter.”
Glasgow City takes on Shelbourne in Lithuania with forward Emily Whelan eagerly anticipating today’s game.
“It will be a good challenge and it will be a good game but I am really excited for it,” she said.
