‘Devastated’ Alan Thompson hits out over Celtic Legends snub with ‘serial winners’ pop at players involved

‘Devastated’ Alan Thompson hits out over Celtic Legends snub with ‘serial winners’ pop at players involved

The former Hoops wide player wasn’t involved as an XI took on Manchester United

Alan Thomspon was devastated at his Celtic snub

Alan Thompson has been left devastated after being snubbed by a Celtic Legends team.

The Hoops XI took on a Manchester United side in a charity match at Old Trafford at the weekend with some of Thompson’s former teammates, like Stilyan Petrov, involved. Others to pull on the shirt were Gary Hooper, Darren O’Dea, Efe Ambrose, Kelvin Wilson and Barry Robson.

Whether some of them can lay claim to being a legend of the club is of for debate, but Thompson certainly can. The former left-winger won four league titles, three Scottish Cups and one League Cup as well as being part of Martin O’Neill’s heroic side that reached the final of the UEFA Cup with a brilliant run to Seville. And he scored over 50 goals in his 227 appearances. Thompson also had a spell as a coach under former boss Neil Lennon.

None of that was enough to earn him an invite to the legends team at the weekend though and he has taken it to heart. Admitting his devastation, he also seemed to have a pop at some of the players included ahead of him.

Thompson wrote: “Devastated when you don’t get invited to Celtic legends game vs Man Utd at Old Trafford but hey ho, life goes on. Must have some serial winners to pick from!!!”

Former Celtic Striker Makes Australian Move

Patryk Klimala has made the move down under to join Sydney FC.

Soccer Football – Champions League First Qualifying Round – Celtic v KR Reykjavik – Celtic Park, Glasgow, Britain – August 18, 2020 Celtic’s Patryk Klimala in action REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

He’s joining on loan from Śląsk Wroclaw for the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season. [Sydney FC]

During his time at Celtic, despite not being a constant performer on the pitch, he was part of the team that won a Scottish Premiership and two Scottish Cups.

Klimala moved to MLS to join New York Red Bulls in April 2021, a team under the management of ex-Celtic manager Ronnie Deila. His time in the U.S. marked a period of personal success, where he scored 14 goals and made 11 assists over two seasons. This performance turnaround contrasted with his underperforming number at Celtic.

Sydney FC has also secured an option to buy Klimala at the end of his loan period.

He’ll have former Bayern Munich and Juventus Winger Douglas Costa playing alongside him, so he should have plenty of quality service.

He won’t face Marco Tilio’s Melbourne until next year, with Sydney not set to meet the side until March and May.

Tilio is still out on loan in Australia after he didn’t want to come back to Celtic for pre-season. He’s found it tough coming to Glasgow from Australia, and it doesn’t look like the move is going to work out for the player.

Mateusz Bogusz to Celtic could STILL be on as transfer target’s dad reveals LA ‘stopover’ is nearing endgame

Talks over a move to the Hoops collapsed in the final stages of the summer window

Mateusz Bogusz is eyeing a return to Europe from Los Angeles FC according to his dad Piotr, after he saw the prospect of a move to Celtic fall apart.

The versatile star was at the centre of transfer talks between the Scottish Premiership champions and the Major League Soccer side towards the end of the summer transfer window – but the two sides failed to come to an agreement with the Hoops opting to bring in Arne Engles and Luke McCowan with the clock ticking on deadline day. The LAFC talisman – who has netted 17 goals and chipped in with seven assists Stateside this term – has seen his star continue to rise after lining up to make his Poland debut alongside Robert Lewandowski in the Nations League clash with Croatia. He even trained at Lennoxtown during the trip to face Scotland, a quirk that caught the interest of Celtic fans on social media.

It remains to be seen if Brendan Rodgers will push for a move in January following the end of the MLS season, but the door appears to have been left open. Speaking to Przeglad Sportowy, Piotr opened up on his son’s decision to leave Leeds United for his American adventure in 2023 – before setting a potential timeline for a return to European football.

He said: “When we first heard about the interest from MLS, we didn’t treat it with much enthusiasm. We thought that maybe it would be better to wait for other offers. Mateusz wasn’t convinced either.

“But the Americans didn’t give up, they were determined and that’s probably the main reason why he decided to make this move. Coach (Steve) Cherundolo and the club’s director called us and presented us with an idea for Mati.

Palma defends fringe man status, brutal Hatate honesty and £3m payday clears FFP hurdle – Celtic news bulletin

It’s still busy at Parkhead despite the international break – here are the main headlines

Winger Luis Palma has insisted that it is only injury that has put him down the pecking order at Celtic so far this season.

The Scottish Premiership champions were on the look-out for a winger in the closing stages of the summer transfer window, but reportedly knocked back bids for the Honduran before the deadline despite a lack of game time so far this season under Brendan Rodgers. The 24-year-old has made just two appearances coming off the bench but did start for his country in their CONCACAF Nations League victory over Trinidad and Tobago last weekend.

Going into Wednesday’s clash with Jamaica, wide man Palma has insisted that he has endured a false start to the campaign due to injury after picking up a knock in Celtic’s season opener against Kilmarnock. He told the media in his homeland: “Personally, my physical condition is not ideal due to the injury I suffered at the start of the season. However, the most important thing is for the national team to win rather than if I am playing or not. I am here to contribute what I can and my priority is the success of the team.”

Another man on international duty this week is Reo Hatate – but he failed to even make the bench in last weekend’s 7-0 rout of China. He will hope to make an appearance against Bahrain on Tuesday – but admitted that he has to raise his level to earn a spot in the starting line-up for his nation.

Speaking to Geki Saka, the brutally honest midfielder said: “It can’t be helped that it’s over, but I think my being left off is due to my lack of ability. If I had the ability, I would have been able to participate in the games and be a member of the team, so I think my lack of ability is the reason for this result.

Reo Hatate in Celtic training

“I think this result is due to my lack of ability. I want to do well for myself. I think I can improve even more. I want to keep that in mind as I work on my game.”

A former Celtic star Mikey Johnston has opened up on his decision to return to West Brom – and admits that Financial Fair Play rules put his return to the Hawthorns in jeopardy. The Ireland international spent a successful six-month loan in the English Championship last season leading boss Carlos Corberan to bring him back in a £3m move.

But with the Baggies struggling to keep within FFP rules, the forward admitted he was left holding out for the club. He told BBC Radio WM: “I thought it was an outside chance – you know the stuff with FFP and whatever.

“I knew I was probably going to be leaving Celtic. The options that I did have I thought it was going to the last day anyway. It was quite late, genuinely, but I tried to give West Brom every chance so it was possible to come back.”

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Another former Celt has found a new club – with Stuart Armstrong joining Vancouver Whitecaps after leaving Southampton at the end of last season. And he gushed over the club following his switch to Major League Soccer telling the club website: “Celtic is a very tough place to be, especially when things aren’t going well.

“When I first moved there, I had a rough start, but then things really started to click. Winning the invincible treble was one of the highlights of my career—it was amazing. We qualified for the Champions League and faced the pressure of winning every single week. To win two trebles in a row was incredible, and then I left, and I think they won another treble. It’s an incredible club with incredible fans. The feeling you get playing at the stadium is top-notch.”

 

After Scotland suffered yet another defeat on the international stage, Steve Clarke has been told that there is a player at Celtic who is the only one who can improve their attacking options.

Scotland’s loss to Portugal means Clarke now has a record of just one win in his last 14 games for the national team.

After the poor Euro 2024, Scotland kicked off their Nations League Group A campaign with a 3-2 home defeat to Poland and have now ended the international break after Cristiano Ronaldo’s 88th-minute strike sent Scotland home with a 2-1 defeat.

But despite an improved performance in the Estádio da Luz, Clarke has now been told that if he wants to improve Scotland’s attacking options, there is only one player he needs to call upon.

James Forrest could be ‘massive’ for Scotland

Ross McCormack was speaking about Scotland’s defeat to the Portuguese when he admitted that Forrest is the only player Clarke has at his disposal that can help boost his attacking options.

McCormack told talkSPORT, “I think we’ve only got one of them that’s been in the squad. And the disappointing thing for me in the summer at the Euros was he didn’t play one minute.

“For me, it’s James Forrest at Celtic. I mean Rangers were in the driving seat to win the league last year and it wasn’t until James came back into the team at Celtic that he made a massive difference to that team and Celtic ended up winning the league.

“So he goes into the Euros full of confidence in the summer and I’m thinking, ‘Right, okay, this is a chance to get someone a little bit different, get us up the pitch and when it’s the odd corner, hit on the break and then we can use set pieces.

“But I was really disappointed to see him not involved in the summer. I was looking back at the third game in the Euro, I think when you set up for us to go and have a real go to win the game and get through the group, I’m thinking we were playing 3-5-2, I think it set up for James Forrest at right wingback.”

Clarke must look at Forrest

Clarke has used Forrest a total of eleven times since he became the national boss back in May 2019. Out of those, Scotland have won seven, drew two and lost two.

The last time Scotland won in their last 14 fixtures was in the 2-0 win over Gibraltar in which Forrest played 66 minutes of the game.

Now I am not suggesting that Forrest is the answer to all of Scotland’s problems but the Celtic winger would give Clarke experience, an out ball and an attacking edge that does seem to be have been lacking at Scotland for a quite some time.

Surely the Scotland boss should be looking at Forrest who has made four appearances for Celtic this season and created two assists as the Scottish champions continue their excellent start to the season.

Celtic’s transfer business concluded with the capture of Luke McCowan from Dundee on transfer deadline day.

McCowan’s signature followed Brendan Rodgers’ capture of Arne Engels and Auston Trusty as Celtic strengthened their first team with the quality the Hoops boss has been craving for months.

However, reports suggested that Celtic also had their eye on Polish attacking midfielder, Mateusz Bogusz, this summer but Celtic pulled away from the deal to focus on other transfer priorities.

And now, Bogusz’s dad has spoken out about his son’s future and explained how the move to MLS came about and dropped a hint on when his son expects to return to Europe.

Bogusz ‘hopes’ for Europe return soon

Bogusz made the move from Leeds United to Los Angeles FC back in 2023. After making just one appearance for the English Championship side, loan spells at Logrones and Ibiza in the Spanish second-tier offered some much-needed game time.

But now, Bogusz is on fire in the US with 17 goals and has just made his debut for Poland but his dad, Piotr, has shared how LAFC plan to sell him to a club in Europe soon.

Piotr told Przeglad Sportowy Onet, “When we first heard about the interest from MLS, we didn’t treat it with much enthusiasm.

“We thought that maybe it would be better to wait for other offers. Mateusz wasn’t convinced either. But the Americans didn’t give up, they were determined and that’s probably the main reason why he decided to make this move.

“Coach (Steve) Cherundolo and the club’s director called us and presented us with an idea for Mati.

“They were very specific. They said that they saw goalscoring potential in him and that MLS would be just a stopover for him, because they would sell him to Europe after some time.

“We liked this vision and decided to take a risk. Today we see that risk has paid off, but he hopes sooner rather than later to return to Europe.” as cited by the Daily Record.

Bogusz Celtic opportunity has gone

With Rodgers adding Arne Engels this summer, the opportunity for Bogusz to join Celtic has gone for the time being.

Unless a move can be fashioned in January, it’s difficult to see who the Pole would oust from the Celtic first team unless another player was moved on.

At just 23, Bogusz has a big future ahead of him in the game but will that future involve a spell at Celtic? It’s difficult to say but it is one that definitely worth keeping an eye on in the not too distant future.

Celtic hero signs contract extension with club he left on deadline day as bizarre transfer quirk revealed

Edouard is still contract to the Premier League club | Getty Images

The Celtic hero made a transfer move on deadline day.

A bizarre contract quirk regarding a Celtic hero has been revealed after his latest transfer move.

Odsonne Edouard moved to Leicester City on deadline day from Crystal Palace on a season-long loan basis. The Frenchman had moved to the Eagles from Celtic in 2021 but minutes were set to become limited for this Premier League campaign.

Steve Cooper’s Foxes have now moved to bring him into their squad as they look to establish themselves as a top table force in England again. There was a situation for Crystal Palace to consider though, with Edouard out of contract next summer.

Now Alan Nixon has claimed “Leicester City loanee Odsonne Edouard signed a new deal at Crystal Palace before he left.” Not only did he pen a fresh deal with the club he was leaving, he signed a deal for the next THREE years, as it’s stated the “shock contract was sorted before the Frenchman moved to the Foxes but protects Palace next summer when he comes back.”

Edouard is a hero in Glasgow’s east-end after 87 goals in 179 games contributed to nine trophies for Celtic. The striker said to club media of his move: “I’m very happy to be here and I’m looking forward to starting with my new team-mates.

“We’ll try to win games and to score some goals. I’m a striker so it’s what everyone expects from me. I’ll try to do my best to try to help the team. [Deadline day] was a very long day, so I’m happy to be here.

“As a striker, it’s exciting to see the ball a lot, to receive a lot of balls to play forward. I’m looking forward to this and I hope I can link up with the boys

Celtic transfer target still on the lookout for European move

Mateusz Bogusz in action for LAFC

Celtic transfer target Matuesz Bogusz is still on the lookout for a move to Europe.

The 23-year-old was the subject of interest from the Scottish Premiership champions in August, but despite talks nothing materialised.

Brendan Rodgers instead opted to look closer to home, bringing in Dundee captain Luke McCowan and Augsburg’s Arne Engels to make up for the departure of Matt O’Riley.

A swoop for Bogusz, though, could yet come to fruition, with the player’s father recently stating he wants his son to return to Europe.

Speaking to Polish outlet Przeglad Sportoway (as per Google Translate), Piotr Bogusz admitted the family weren’t initially convinced by a move Stateside, but that they were eventually persuaded.

“When we first heard about the interest from MLS, we didn’t treat it with much enthusiasm,” he said.

“We thought that maybe it would be better to wait for other offers. Mateusz wasn’t convinced either. But the Americans didn’t give up, they were determined and that’s probably the main reason why he decided to make this move.

“They said that they saw goalscoring potential in him and that MLS would be just a stopover for him.

“We liked this vision and decided to take a risk. Today we see that risk has paid off, but he hopes sooner rather than later to return to Europe.”

Celtic could well return to the table for Bogusz in the winter window. The MLS season ends in December, so January could be the ideal time to make another move.

AJ was worried about getting hurt. A decent Celtic man, Mick Cullen, RIP.

I’ve said it before, I don’t like International breaks in football, I don’t really mind the week off, it’s just that it serves no purpose to the everyday football supporter. It also puts added pressure on our players through the extra games having to be played, so as you can imagine, I was delighted when Callum Mc Gregor retired from playing for Scotland, when was the last time Callum had a decent summer break?

Another downside to International football is the risk of injury, it’s been reported that Ali Johnston had to come off before half an hour had passed playing for Canada against the United States, AJ is a whole hearted player, he leaves everything out on the pitch, much the same as his back-up at right back, Anthony Ralston, right back is a position we don’t have a lot of cover in, it’s basically Big Tony or AJ, so both of them playing for their countries is a worry.

I think every Celtic Supporter was happy with the work done by the Club in the transfer window, it looks like we have recruited well, and a few players have also left, trimming the squad was important, we need a strong squad, but you can have too many players as well, so it was good for the club, and for the players who left, they want to play every week, so they should get that with their new clubs, we wish them all well at the new clubs, I’m pretty sure, like Big Joe Hart, we’ll see them back at Celtic Park as supporters.

It was sad to hear of the passing of a good friend of mine, and of many, that was Mick Cullen, I met Mick regularly in the Luton Celtic Supporters Social Club, like myself, he like a few haufs. Mick was noted for playing for Luton Town, and for Grimsby Town, and Derby County. Mick won one cap for Scotland, the first Luton Town player to be capped for Scotland. Mick was a massive Celtic Supporter, he often told me he would have loved to have played for Celtic. Mick missed out on playing for Celtic because of his love for his Mother, Celtic had offered him £2 to sign, and I believe £2 per week, Mick said when the Luton Town Manager visited his Mother’s house, he placed a £100 note on the table to sign for Luton, Mick said when he saw his Mother’s eyes light up, he couldn’t say no, even though he wanted to play for Celtic. Mick loved nothing better than singing the Celtic Song, I’m reliably informed by Mick Mooney, that Mick was the first person to sing the Willie Maley song in the Luton Club. Requiescat in pace Mick.
Glasgow’s still Green & White

The Celtic Supporters Association

The Celtic Supporters Association was the idea of Willie Fanning whose dream became a reality back in September 1944.

These were dark days on and off the pitch with the Second World War still raging and in comparison to those horrors rather more trivialy Celtic were not providing much joy to its supporters and defeat was a regular experience. Indeed the idea of a supporters association came to 27-year-old Willie while watching the Bhoys get thrashed 6-2 at Hamilton.

Willie decided to write to the Daily Record calling on fellow Celtic fans interested in establishing a supporters club to get in touch. A total of 14 people replied. Consequently a meeting was arranged at St Mark’s and St Paul’s Hall, Chester Street in Shettleston. The meeting proved to be a success – a provisional committee was installed and Willie was elected as President.

By the time of the second meeting at the A.O.H. Hall in Alexandria Parade in Townhead the word had spread. The hall was packed and car loads of supporters from across Glasgow and beyond eager to attend created a traffic jam along the parade.

A constitution was drawn up which allowed the new organosation to become an amalgamation of supporters clubs. Within 12 months membership had rocketed to 700 and the association had won the official endorsement of Celtic FC who handed over the responsibility of distributing match tickets to affiliated branches of the CSA.

The CSA remains a strong and influential body. Apart from following Celtic in massive numbers it has a social club in Glasgow and its annual Supporters Rally is a highlight in the Celtic calendar.

True to the traditions of Celtic FC the CSA also has a proud and continued ethos of raising funds for charity.

Auston Trusty’s transfer to Celtic enrages Chris Wilder as Sheffield Utd boss slams ‘ridiculous and stupid’ system

Wilder didn’t hold back after his side lost defender Trusty on deadline day

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has slammed the system that saw him lose Auston Trusty on deadline day.

Celtic chiefs sealed a deal for the £6million defender from Bramall Lane on the final day of the transfer window. United boss Wilder believes that scenario played out is all wrong and has hit out vehemently at the structure and decision-makers who devised the set-up. He said: “It’s a ridiculous situation to be in. A stupid position and there’s no point to it whatsoever.

“Most of us in the game would rather see transfers having to be done before the season starts. The fact they can still happen tells me that the windows were set-up by people who clearly don’t understand football. Football people don’t want this. Not the ones I speak to. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t rather get all of this sorted out beforehand.

“There’s no need for it at all. Either those responsible for setting things up as they are now aren’t interested in what we think, don’t get it and don’t want to listen or are allowing it to happen for other reasons. It’s daft.”

Speaking to SportsBoom, Wilder continued: “When the matches start, you shouldn’t be able to do transfers. It’s as simple as that.

“All the current way of doing things does is create uncertainty. I don’t think that’s right or fair on anyone involved. If it was up to me, it would get changed right away. If it was up to a lot of other managers and coaches in fact.

“Surely, it’s much better for everyone, including the fans, to know that once the matches have started that’s how you are going to be set until at least January? With how things are now, you could play your first match really strong and then possibly see some of your best players leave after a couple of games. Then everything changes.

Report: Arsenal, Man City and Celtic discovered their Women’s Champions League

Arsenal face BK Hacken in qualifying round two, with Man City facing Paris FC and Celtic taking on Vorskla Poltava; the 12 winners of qualifying ties will join Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in group stages; group stage draw takes place on September 27

Arsenal, Man City and Celtic discovered their Women’s Champions League qualifying round two opponents on Monday, with all three set to play the first legs away from home.

Jonas Eidevall’s Gunners – who beat Rangers and Rosenborg to reach this stage of the tournament – will face BK Hacken of Sweden, who reached the quarter-finals last season.

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The teams faced one another in the quarter-finals of the Champions League back in 2011/12, with Arsenal running out 3-2 winners.

Man City start their campaign at the second round by virtue of having finished second in the WSL last season.

They face Paris FC, who beat Real Madrid home and away in last season’s group stages but finished third in a group that contained both Chelsea and BK Hacken.

Celtic were the only British team to be involved in the Champions Path draw, having won the Scottish Women’s Premier League in 2023/24.

They, too, begin their campaign at this stage with a tie against Ukrainian champions Vorskla Poltava.

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The first legs of the two-legged ties will take place on September 18 and 19, with the returns on September 25 and 26.

The winners of the round-two qualifying fixtures will progress to the group stages of the competition, joining Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

The group-stage draw will take place on Friday September 27, with the subsequent fixtures scheduled to be played on the following dates:

Matchday 1: October 8/9

Matchday 2: October 16/17

Matchday 3: November 12/13

Matchday 4: November 20/21

Matchday 5: December 11/12

Matchday 6: December 17/18

Round 2 draw in full

Champions path

SKN St Polten (Austria) vs ZNK Mura (Slovenia)

Benfica (Portugal) vs Hammarby IF (Sweden)

ZNK Osijek (Croatia) vs FC Twente (Netherlands)

Galatasaray (Turkey) vs Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)

Roma (Italy) vs Servette (Switzerland)

Anderlecht (Belgium) vs Valerenga (Norway)

FC Vorskla Poltava (Ukraine) vs Celtic (Scotland)

League path

Sporting CP (Portugal) vs Real Madrid (Spain)

Juventus (Italy) vs Paris Saint-Germain (France)

Paris FC (France) vs Manchester City (England)

Fiorentina (Italy) vs Wolfsburg (Germany)

BK Hacken FF (Sweden) vs Arsenal (England

When Brendan Rodgers added seven new faces to his Celtic team this summer, the Hoops boss didn’t just add quality, he also added potential.

Spending £11m on Arne Engels and £9.5m on Adam Idah meant that Rodgers not only paid the price for the players he believed could take Celtic to the next level, but the Irishman also secured two players ahead of their best footballing years.

Celtic also answered the ever-burning Joe Hart question this summer. When the big Englishman announced his retirement from football, Rodgers knew he had to make a plan to secure one of the most important positions in the team.

The Celtic boss addressed that with the signings of Viljami Sinisalo and Kasper Schmeichel and whilst the Dane has enjoyed five outings between the sticks, the young Finnish goalkeeper is yet to be seen on the competitive stage for Celtic.

September date Sinisalo could make Celtic debut

So far, Viljami Sinisalo has had to watch from the sidelines as Schmeichel impressed in the opening five games as Celtic blew away Kilmarnock, Hibs twice, St Mirren and the Rangers in the Glasgow Derby.

But as the season enters its busiest spell of fixtures in the calendar, Rodgers will need to utilise his squad to ensure not only players get game time but also rested at various points in the season.

Celtic face Hearts at Celtic Park and then Slovan Bratislava in the opening group game in the Champions League.

Sinisalo is likely to spend those games on the bench unless there is a need to drop Kasper Schmeichel due to an injury issue or otherwise.

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The young Finn could likely be given his Celtic debut on the 22nd of September when Falkirk visits Celtic Park for the quarter-final of the League Cup.

Celtic will be heavy favourites for that tie and with Rodgers’ team likely to dominate, this could be the perfect match to introduce Sinisalo to the Celtic support in the comfort of the home stadium.

Celtic’s squad will be vital this season

So far this season, there are eight players, including Sinisalo, who have yet to taste competitive action for Celtic. Auston Trusty, Adam Montgomery, Stephen Welsh, Maik Nawrocki, Alex Valle, Liam Shaw and Scott Bain are yet to feature.

With the exception of Shaw, Bain, Montgomery and possibly Nawrocki, you would imagine the rest will feature at some point over the coming months.

Celtic now face playing three games per week from now until the next international break in October and right up until and Rodgers’ work in the summer window has helped to set the team up nicely to cope with that demand.

UWCL: Celtic drawn against Ukrainian Champions FC Vorskla Poltava

Celtic FC Women will face FC Vorskla Poltava in Round 2 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, confirmed by today’s draw. There will be a home and away tie, with the games being played on the 18/19 and 25/26 September.

After overcoming KuPS and FC Gintra in Round 1, the Celts progressed to Round 2 for the first time ever. Now, Elena Sadiku’s side are looking to continue writing their names in the history books by reaching the group stages, which no Celtic Women team has ever done before.

Our opponents currently sit second in the Ukrainian Women’s Premier League after four games, tied on points for the top spot. They have won the league for the last three seasons and breezed through their first round of Champions League qualifiers with a 5-0 and 2-0 victory against Rīga and Ferencváros respectively.

On to #UWCL Round Two 👊

Watch the goals as the Ghirls created more history with victory in Lithuania ✨#GINCEL | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/wDZcn1OTdF

— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) September 8, 2024

Although this tie certainly won’t be easy, we avoided some huge names like Roma and Benfica. Hopefully, the home leg of this tie can be played at Celtic Park to celebrate Women’s Champions League football coming to the East End of Glasgow for the first time and that the fans will come out in their numbers to cheer on the Scottish Champions.

It will also be interesting to see where the away tie is played, with the war in Ukraine that may be played in Poland as has happened with the Celtic men’s team playing in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Celtic are the last remaining Scottish side in the competition after theRangers Women were knocked out after losing to Arsenal (6-0) and Atletico Madrid (3-0). The runners-up in the SWPL really do get it tough so there’s a huge incentive for Elena Sadiku’s side to retain their title.

So to recap Celtic FC Women have been drawn against FC Vorskla Poltava in Round 2 of the Champions League, with the winners of the home and away tie earning a place in the Group stages of the Champions League, which works in the same way that the old format for the men’s Champions League worked.

Over to Celtic to sort out the venue. Can we have the Green Wall please?

COYGIG!

Jessica Elliott

✨ We have been drawn against FC Vorskla Poltava in Round 2 of #UWCL Qualifying!

Fixture information TBC 🗓#UWCLdraw | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/ir1Y7IALmJ

— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) September 9, 2024

Reo Hatate in brutally harsh assessment of own ability as Celtic star addresses international snub

The midfielder didn’t even make the Japan bench for the win over China

Reo Hatate has been brutally honest about his own ability (Image: PA)

Reo Hatate feels his lack of international action is down to his “lack of ability” in a brutal self-assessment.

The Celtic midfielder was called up to the Japan squad for this international week but failed to even make the bench to face China as his teammates routed them 7-0. The 26-year-old will hope to appear against Bahrain before returning to his club but has refused to blame anyone else for his snub in the first game.

Despite often being a standout for the Hoops during the last few seasons since being signed by Ange Postecoglou, he claims he was left out because he has not shown himself to be good enough to play. Hatate is now targeting achieving an improvement in his game to ensure that he does find himself in the picture in the future.

He toldGeki Saka: It can’t be helped that it’s over, but I think my being left off is due to my lack of ability. If I had the ability, I would have been able to participate in the games and be a member of the team, so I think my lack of ability is the reason for this result.

“I think this result is due to my lack of ability. I want to do well for myself. I think I can improve even more. I want to keep that in mind as I work on my game.”