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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Ryan McGinlay

In-form star outlines the 'advantage' Celtic have over European opponents

(Image: Stuart Wallace / Shutterstock)

Sebastian Tounekti is eyeing a Champions League breakthrough with Celtic.

The 23-year-old winger is gearing up for the first leg of the play-off against LASK in Glasgow on Wednesday.

The Tunisian expects a tough challenge from the Austrians but believes the support from the home crowd could tip the balance in Celtic's favour. Tounekti said: "With teams from Austria, you know they’re going to be really intense.

"They want to press and they want to play, so it’s going to be two really hard games, both home and away. But we have the chance on Wednesday and we have to be ready because we’re going to have amazing support behind us.

"I know that will be to our advantage."

Having scored his first goal of the season during Saturday’s 4-0 League Cup win over Dundee United at Tannadice, Tounekti is keen to boost his goal tally this term. He said: "It’s always nice to score your first goal of the season.


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"One of my development points was to produce more because I feel like I have it in me. I’m doing the hard work on the pitch, but I want to add goals and assists to my game.

"I’m really pleased to have the first one now, so hopefully there are more coming."

He even made a promise to assistant manager Shaun Maloney before the summer break to work on his attacking stats. Tounekti said: "We spoke a lot last season and, before I went on holiday, I promised him I would work hard during the break.

"He saw that I could be a player who scores a lot of goals and makes a lot of assists."

Despite a League Cup quarter-final at Ibrox following the European tie, Tounekti insists the team’s focus is solely on the Champions League. He said: "I think Celtic, as a club, has to be in the Champions League.

"These are massive games and we want to do everything we can to go through. As a club and as a fanbase, we deserve to be there and to play those big games.

"The group, the staff and everyone together are really looking forward to it."

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