On the eve of facing Legia Warsaw Ronnie Deila has revealed a highly ambitious mission statement.
Most Celtic fans will be happy to negotiate their way through two qualifying rounds to reach the group stage of the Champions League with Fraser Forster and Virgil van Dijk in the line up.
Deila has still to make a proper move into the transfer market but has set the highest of benchmarks ahead of playing the Polish champions.
While Neil Lennon pledged to bring back the thunder after taking over from Tony Mowbray, Deila wants to reach for the stars and mix it with them on equal terms in the Champions League
“I want to develop the team and play competitive games at the highest level,” he opened up with. “This is a very important game, but I can’t do anything else other than prepare myself for it as best I can and go into it with confidence. I think we have a reason to be confident.
“Within myself, I really want to get into the Champions League and this is my first opportunity but I also think my reputation and the way I work will come into it more over time.
“The goal is to get a flying start and go straight into the Champions League. My goals are to play Champions League every year, to win everything in Scotland, to develop a culture at all levels of the club and to play nice football the fans like. We will see in a season or two if I reach those goals.”
Warming to the theme he added: “My dream with Celtic is to go to Celtic Park for a Champions League match, play a really big European team and control the game. I want to have more passes than the opposition and really just blow them away. That’s my dream. If I reach it or not, I don’t know.
“For me, it is about moments. Trophies are important, but I don’t remember the trophies I won in Norway. I remember the moments – driving to the stadium, seeing the people happy. Playing fantastic football to win the game and get the young kids smiling – I get goosebumps from that.
“When I came to watch Celtic play Barcelona at home last season, it was unbelievable. Think what it would be like if Celtic could also control a game like that? It would be awesome, fantastic, and that’s my dream.”
