Well, it worked for the Tories. and we should copy their policy  tonight at Celtic Park. Make the Azeri’s too scared to try anything that offers them hope.

There was a time when other teams came to Celtic Park on European duty , and did a wee lap of honour if they got a draw. They were intimidated by the crowd, and the team would play as though possessed, roared on by a crowd that lifted itself and the side to exceptional performance , and to memorable victories.Those of us of a certain vintage, for instance,  will recall Oliver Khan and his Bayern Munich team mates doing just that after a 0-0 champions League draw.

Some of us baulk at the opposition players who want to come to Glasgow because it’s a great atmosphere, and part of a players bucket list. It should be the last place a visiting player should want to be anywhere near on professional business.

Those days of fear are gone, for the moment at least, and reptutations like that take some time to build.

So we’d better get started.

Tonight.

Manager Ronny Deila may not have seen the ground in full flow, certainly as a Celt, but you get the feeling he wants it to happen soon, and he knows exactly the effect it will have on Qarabag;

“I think it’s going to be an open game but it’s at Celtic Park – our castle.

“We need to be kings of that castle. That is what we are aiming for, to get Celtic Park to be the hardest place to come.

“I remember at the start of last season when the teams said they didn’t fear coming to Celtic Park but we changed that through last season and now we have to bring that out in Europe.” 

Not sure European teams are afraid, but they will be a little worried about making sure all their players are eligible, I suppose.

“We will play a lot of the same way we normally do but it’s about high pressure, intensity, it’s about getting forward quickly when we get the chance.

“When you meet good opponents it’s also about defending as well.

“We want to be in their half all of the time but when you play good teams you also know you’ll have to defend. The fans can see that. It won’t be a problem.

“We must stick together as a team defensively. When we do that, we don’t concede goals.

“When we don’t, when we are too wide and too open, that’s what causes us the biggest problems. But we’ve experienced this before and can take that into the game.” 

Kris Commons joins the squad after recovering from a poorly toe, but Charlie Mulgrew picked up an injury in the Rennes friendly, and he won’t make it.

This is , it goes without saying, an incredibly important game. So I won’t say it.

The practie is done, the friendlies are over, and it’s all very real from here on. Celtic must start at tempo. Qarabag may not be match fit, as their season hasn’t started yet, so the training that Deila has put the players through will be a factor. In the last game against Stjarnan, Celtic scored two late goals against a side who were well into their season, showing that fitness levels are rising.

Craig Gordon should, as ever start in goal. He is dependable in a crisis, and rarely makes mistakes. Mikael Lustig may get the nod, but the importance of the game will probably see Efe Ambrose at right back, with Emilio Izaguirre taking up his usual berth on the left. As long as at least one of them remains in their own half during attacking play, then we should be okay.

Deydrick boayat and Virgil van Dijk at the centre, still relatively untested together, need to up the communication levels, but otherwisw should be steady at the back, protected by Scott Brown and Nir Biton, Stuart Armstrong will add extra dig, Stefan johansen extra fight and Gary Mackay Steven extra pace with the only real doubt being up front.

Though van Dijk may have to adapt a wee bit, as the Qarabag players are considerably taller than this fellow from Rennes;

Will he pick Nadir Ciftci, to exploit the possibility of the Qarabag keeper , as our man in Baku says, being a littlle suspect against a big centre forward, or will he go with the in form Leigh Griffiths ?

I’m going to go for Ciftci to start.

Why ?

Think of the morale of the Qarabag defenders, should they hold out for an hour, if the top striker joins the fray, as opposed to holding out for an hour against him to seeing the next best guy come on.

Griffiths is the better striker, but Ronny gave a hint when he said that the Scot can be depended on to score coming off the bench as well as if he starts.

The counter argument is that Griffiths is a better bet fro an early goal, but we’ve got Armstrong and Mackay Steven to exploit early chances.

The substitues bench will be crucial. Leo Fasan has recovered from his nervous start and could be the deputy keeper, if Logan bailly isn’t fit enough yet. Darnell Fisher is the only defender with any experience bar Lustig, and there is a doubt over the Swedes fitness, so these two will be benched. Liam Henderson -touted for a loan to Dundee United -is, like Griffiths, capable of changing a game, as is Kris Commons and that leaves Tom Rogic for the seventh spot.

for those who think we maybe haven’t progressed as much as we would like, compare tonights probable line up with this one from the corresponding fixture last season, against Legia Warsaw;

Celtic

• 01 Forster
• 02 Matthews
• 05 van Dijk
• 04 Ambrose Emuobo Dismissed
• 23 Lustig
• 21 Mulgrew Booked
• 25 Johansen
• 15 Commons (Griffiths – 75′ Booked )
• 42 McGregor
• 16 Berget (Izaguirre – 62′ )
• 20 Pukki (Kayal – 45′ Booked )

Substitutes

• 03 Izaguirre
• 06 Biton
• 10 Stokes
• 11 Boerrigter
• 24 Zaluska
• 28 Griffiths
• 33 Kayal        

I think we are a different team, and not just in the personnel changes.

So, optimism abounds, and despite reports to the contrary, tickets are selling well. You can even pay at the gate for the Lisbon Lions upper,  as the club do their best to fill the place. It’s not on any mainstream tv, so if you live nearby then get down to the game.

Diary predictions have a way of being nowhere near the actual result, but there is a feeling that a two or three goal win is certainly not beyond Celtic, but we will have to up the tempo and the concentration to get that.

Meanwhile, spare a thought for the faithful fans of the Doha CSC, in Qatar, who face a 27 hour drive to the away game.

Well, don’t, to be honest. Because they don’t exist.

But that didn’t stop the Daily Record website from reporting on their trip, and the reason why they can’t stop in Iran on the way down;

Record editor Murray Foote claimed this week that he didn’t print the “sectarian ” aspect of the Kirk Broadfoot ban because he always gets two verifiable sources. Admittedly this appeared on the web, and was taken down after it was established to be nonsense, but it just goes to show that the accuracy level of the paper is, well, off the radar.

They have continued their campaign, along with the rest of the MSM , to get Scott Allan, the Hibs man, over to Second rangers, however, prompting the Edinburgh club to make a statement;

In the face of continued media interest, Hibernian Football Club can confirm that Scott Allan has today handed in a written transfer request.

This comes on the back of two unwelcome and uninvited approaches from Rangers FC regarding Scott, the first for £175,000 and the second for £225,000.

Hibernian FC has refused both bids because the Club has no wish to transfer a valuable player to strengthen a major rival in the battle to win the Championship and gain promotion to the Premiership.

Hibernian’s position has not changed. The player will not be sold to Rangers.

Oh, the spoilsports.

It’s clearly the lads dream to play for the Ibrox club, as the Record said in January of 2012;

I’m a Rangers fan but I couldn’t stand pressure of

playing in Glasgow, says West Brom new boy Scott Allan

At that time the pressure would have revolved around getting his wages paid.

“As a fan it might seem strange not to look at the chance of going to Rangers but I was never told they had made an official bid.

“West Brom were always going to be my choice and even though I was aware Rangers were interested I knew I had to go south to become a better player.

“It came down to a purely football decision and no disrespect to Rangers but it was about getting the chance to play with a better standard of player.

“I’m a Glasgow boy and I just wanted to get away from the city.

“It’s about focusing on my football without the distractions and not being a footballer in Glasgow with all the problems that brings. 

In January 2012, Rangers would probably have decided against getting into a discussion about signing him anyway, they had other things on thier mind, and any discussions would have probably lasted longer than the club at that point, as they hurtled towards extinction.

 We hear that a highly trained squad of legal advisors and a few guys from Level 5PR are heading over to Italy, by the way, as once mighty Parma are needing confirmation that they can simply be called “The Parma ” and carry on as normal.

If only they had bought the history first…..

A brief diversion into the surreal world of Ibrox there, but thoughts are on tonights game.

If you want to get into the mood for it this afternoon, and you can find it, maybe this will be of interest…

The Insideworldfootball LIVE MATCH CHANNEL launches today for the Durban U19 International Tournament. Our first live-streamed match – ARSENAL vs CELTIC – kicks off at 2pm UK time (3pm Durban). At 4.15pm we will stream PSV Eindhoven vs KZN Academy. 

Eight of the world’s best U19 teams will be battling out for the next 11 days in South Africa at the Durban U19 International Tournament.

Group A kicks off today with Arsenal vs Celtic and PSV Eindhoven vs KZN Academy. All matches will be played in the King Zwelithi stadium.  

By the way, Luca Antonini, former Milan left back, is interesting Celtic, according to Gazzetto del Sport, he’s out of favour at Genoa. He’s 32, which means someone hasn’t done their homework. Either that or we are desperate to get a left back.

The lights at Celtic Park over the pitch were featured yesterday, as Peter Lawwel had dropped a fiver and wasn’t going home until he found it.

Caption competition, to take our minds off the game for a minute ?

Go on then.