Brendan Rodgers wasn’t fazed by Celtic’s Europa League draw against Valencia.
After losing to Hibs it seems a tall order to think about knocking out one of the top names from La Liga but under the surface there are reasons to be hopeful.
Although Valencia beat Manchester United last week their domestic form has been poor with just three wins in La Liga.
Discussing yesterday’s defeat Rodgers said that he knew what his best team was, by the time Valencia come to Glasgow he’ll be hoping to have added a few new names to his A-team.
“It’s a game we’ll be excited by,” the Celtic boss told BBC Scotland.
“By the time that period comes round we will have had the mid-season break which will be so important to us.
“Along with that hopefully the return of injuries by then and adding to the squad. By the time the games comes in February we would like to think we’ll be in a really strong position.”
Holding on to Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic for the Valencia matches will be critical to Celtic’s hopes of progressing to the last 16 of the Europa League.
Leicester are making all the right noises about wanting their defender to have a full season at Celtic but there is always the prospect of a massive bid coming in for Harry Maguire resulting in a recall for Benkovic.
In August Rodgers rejected a £7m bid from Fulham for Boyata, the English side are expected to resume their interest in the defender next month with other clubs also credited with interest in the 28-year-old.