SPEND CELTS OR STRUGGLE IN EUROPE'S SECOND TIER

IF European football clarified one thing last week it was just how far Scottish clubs have still to go before we can consider ourselves a respectable force.

The gulf in class evident throughout in Hearts' 2-1 defeat by AEK Athens made me wonder how other Scottish sides would have fared against the Greeks. I reckon the result would have been much the same.

Meanwhile, Gretna were embarrassed 5-1 by Derry City - surely Hibs would have fared better against the Irish side if league placing had taken precedence over last season's Scottish Cup losers?

The fact remains both Hearts and Gretna were humbled by Greek and Irish opponents - hardly the cream of European football.

The 90 minutes at Murrayfield were highly entertaining but at the same time worrying from a Scottish point of view.

The Jambos' hopes of a £7million jackpot against Europe's elite now lie in tatters after a first-leg battering from a side who have hardly kicked a ball this season.

The story of the tie was not, as Valdas Ivanauskas suggested, Bruno Aguiar's sending off for two book able offences.

The Hearts gaffer claims that changed the course of the game. No, the real story was the superior levels of skill, passing ability and quality of play from the Greeks.

In short, it was a stark warning for Gordon Strachan and Celtic of what to expect when they go straight into the Champions League group stages next month.

The Hoops must up their performance considerably to cope with such an unforgiving standard of opponent.

As second seeds Celtic go into the draw in what's effectively a misleading position.

According to UEFA teams in the second pot of seeds should qualify - but we all know that's not always the case. Last year Rangers showed up Porto's false position as second favourites based mainly on a previous era.

Most of the star names guided by Jose Mourinho to the pinnacle of European football had long since gone - but Porto still enjoyed a privileged position.

When the "Special One" left, Co Adriaanse took on the challenge, fell short and paid the price for failure with the axe.

So what of Celtic's hopes?

Like Porto's all-conquering heroes Celtic's best results in Europe recently were achieved by a catalogue of players no longer here.

Their prospects of emulating Rangers' success last season in reaching the last 16 will depend heavily on the hectic transfer activity that's bound to take place over the next few weeks.

So far Celtic fans have only been hearing about who's leaving. Stilian Petrov looks likely to get his wish soon to join up with former boss Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa in the Premiership.

If Celtic get the money they want they must find a similar player who can become as successful as the Bulgarian captain - but that's far from easy.

Some of the deadwood has also been shipped out.

Adam Virgo has joined Coventry, Mo Camara's on the verge of going to Leeds, Stephen Pearson and Ross Wallace could be next.

But Hoops fans want to hear about the players who are coming in.

"Budget Celtic" is Strachan's catchphrase at the moment - and that puts pressure on him to get every signing right.

Celtic simply can't afford to spend heavily on guys like Virgo only for them to flop and leave on a year's loan.

As far as the transfer market goes Strachan has been at pains to point out his club are struggling to compete on equal terms with Championship sides, far less the Premiership.

Some of the business down south is completely out of Celtic's reach - Emile Heskey to Wigan for £5.5million Andy Johnson to Everton for £8.6m and Manchester United's outrageous £18.6m for Michael Carrick.

In days past O'Neill could afford to splash out on complete players like Chris Sutton, John Hartson, Neil Lennon and Alan Thompson to supplement the superb quality he already had in Henrik Larsson, Petrov, Johan Mjallby and Paul Lambert.

But the new-look Celtic under Strachan is proving far harder to assemble.

Hearts look likely to fail in their Champions League quest - but frankly, no-one in the east end of Glasgow will shed a tear.

All the money from UEFA to Scottish clubs in the Champions League would go to Celtic. And they'll need every penny to fulfil their seeding. AEK proved teams well below the second tier of European clubs can trouble the best Scotland has to offer.

Clubs such as Galatasaray, Lille and Shakhtar Donetsk all look likely to go through and can easily compete with Scotland's champions.

From what I've seen of Celtic so far they lack a variety in their play.

Against Hearts, Kenny Miller and Maciej Zurawski were left bullied and Celts badly need an option of playing long for a physical striker to hold up the ball.

A left back is also essential but again Celtic are having to look to the Championship for reinforcements. Lee Naylor has been at Wolves for 10 years - but must surely be better than the last pair bought from the same division, Virgo and Camara.

The bottom line is this Celtic side will always be compared to what O'Neill's expensively-assembled team achieved in Europe.

It's hardly comparing like with like.

Taken from the Sunday Mail