Celtic boss Martin O'Neill believes his team can learn a lot from Leeds United's efforts in last season's Champions League. Celtic have been drawn in the same group as Juventus, Porto, and Rosenborg after being forced to qualify for the group stages just as Leeds had to 12 months ago. "Leeds' efforts last season were fantastic, to have got to the semi-finals after having to qualifying like we have had to do," said the Irishman.
"It didn't daunt them or deflect from what they had to do. I hope we can learn from what Leeds did. They learned from each defeat, and their achievements were fantastic," he added.
O'Neill is not even thinking beyond the first group stage of the competition at the moment, preferring to concentrate on the exciting prospect of entertaining Juventus at Parkhead. "It's a group I'm delighted to be in. We are just delighted to be in the draw, especially after the nerves we showed against Ajax," he explained.
"We have emerged from pot four with some very attractive fixtures all round but particularly with the Juventus ties. That's a throwback to the great Celtic days of old. They are fantastic games. After all these years of Celtic trying to get to this stage, to end up playing such a great side as Juventus is amazing. It will be a great night for our fans," he added.
Although commentators suggested after yesterday's draw that Celtic have an excellent chance of progressing beyond Group E, O'Neill does not want to entertain such fanciful thoughts. "We have Porto back-to-back, and by the time we get that far it is going to be very decisive. I wouldn't dare make any predictions, only that we are in a group where the distances are not too great. Rosenborg will disagree with anyone who says they are an easy tie. They have been in the Champions League for seven successive years - every year of the competition - so they know what it's all about and will fancy their chances too," he reasoned.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
