Manager and captain's reaction to UCL play-off draw | OneFootball

Celtic now know the team which stands between them and a place in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League following Tuesday night’s qualifiers.

And the penalty shoot-out victory for Kazakhstan champions, FC Kairat Almaty, over Slovan Bratislava means the Hoops will face the longest away trip possible in a fortnight’s time.

Before then, it will be FC Kairat who make the same journey in the opposite direction for next Wednesday’s first leg at Celtic Park (August 20), and the Hoops are aiming to establish a strong first-leg lead to take with them on their travels.

Speaking to Celtic TV, Brendan Rodgers and Callum McGregor both gave their reaction to the UCL play-off draw.

The manager said: “Of course, everyone would have preferred a shorter travelling distance, but they got through, they won the tie, so we’ll play the first game of our two legs and our objective is to get through.

“We can really analyse them now and be prepared for the first leg next week… and we’ll do everything we can to make sure we get into the league phase.”

Captain Callum McGregor said: “It’s going to be a tough tie. Obviously the travel and everything else comes into that and the preparation.

“We’ve got the home game first and we want to try and maximize that, as we would against any opponent, but it could be even more important now that we try and do the absolute maximum to get a good result at home, and then negotiate the travel.

“It’s a tough team and we know it will be a tough tie. It’s a good tie for us but one that we’ll have to be at our best to get through.”

Fixtures

Celtic Vs. Kairat - Wed, Aug 20th 2025, 20:00