Celtic are well on their way to securing the treble this season with the Scottish Premiership title virtually in the bag.
Kenny Dalglish (L)
Kenny Dalglish has suggested that no matter what Celtic go on to achieve this season, no achievement will be as great as reaching the Champions League group-stages, Sky Sports reports.
Brendan Rodgers’ men are well on their way to pulling off the domestic treble. The League Cup is already in the bag, while the Scottish Premiership title win seems imminent and they have made it to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
But Dalglish believes that getting back to Europe’s top table should be reflected upon as the greatest thing that the Hoops have achieved this season.
“They’ve only dropped two points in the league, they have already won the League Cup but I think the greatest success, even if they win the Scottish Cup, is qualification for the Champions League,” he said, as reported by Sky Sports.
“People might say, that’s a bit strange. But people keep saying how weak the league is and the teams in the league are. And I don’t think one of the teams got through the qualification for the Europa League.”
While the Champions League pitted them against considerably tougher opposition – they were drawn into a group that included Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach – they surely deserve a tremendous amount of praise for the respect they have shown their opponents in the top flight.
It would be easy for Rodgers and his team to largely switch off with the title virtually wrapped up, but they continue to dispatch teams domestically and the manager has made few selection decisions that suggest that he has one eye on next season.
But, of course, it is perhaps only by making an impact in Europe that the Bhoys will get the full credit they deserve, and those sceptical about their quality will begin to gain an understanding of how good a team they actually are.
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