John Hartson has delivered his verdict on Celtic’s Europa League draw on Monday morning – and it’s optimistic, despite a tough tie.
Talking on BT Sport’s coverage of the Europa League draw (Monday, midday), Hartson gave his verdict on the mouth-watering clash against Valencia and predicted that Celtic can progress.
“I don’t think Valencia are anywhere near the strength of the team we played [in 2001, when Valencia eliminated Celtic in the UEFA Cup],” Hartson said.
“But it’s a great trip, a fantastic place to play. They’re struggling in La Liga, five points off the bottom three.
“For Celtic it’s not a bad tie, they could have had much harder. I think Celtic can go and be competitive against Valencia and hopefully get through.”
OPINION
Celtic aren’t having a vintage season. After slipping up again in the league at the weekend, Rangers are on top of the Premiership and the title race is likely to go all the way to the wire. However, while Rangers crashed out of the Europa League, losing 1-0 to Rapid Vienna, Celtic scraped through after some last minute drama. Valencia are a big name but not the force they once were at the moment – they’re currently sitting 14th in La Liga. However, they beat Man United 2-1 in their last Champions League game, despite having already been eliminated and showed they’ve still got a touch of class about them. It won’t be easy but Celtic at their very best can progress. Hartson went on to say that adding new recruits in January is essential for Brendan Rodgers. He said that Celtic need to add at least three new players if they want to fulfil their ambitions, including another striker to support Odsonne Edouard. Celtic fans will be hoping for a busy January at Parkhead.