Greg Taylor isn’t prepared to give up on his Champions League dream and he’s convinced Celtic’s wantaway stars are just as determined to give the Hoops the perfect leaving present.
There’s a sense next week’s qualifying clash with Midtjylland has crept up on Celts.
There are unlikely to be any new faces involved in the first leg in Glasgow and several stars who might have expected to be elsewhere by now are still on the books.
It’s only a matter of time before Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer wave goodbye, while Ryan Christie and others could join them in heading to the exit.
Despite the challenges facing new boss Ange Postecoglou, Taylor won’t write off the European hopes just yet.
He’s adamant Celtic still have the quality to get through against the Danes and he has absolutely no doubt the players itching to leave the club are 100 per cent committed to immediate cause.
Taylor said: “If you watch training you will see that every boy is as competitive as ever.
“That won’t change with anyone, whether they have further aspirations with what they want to do in their career, whether that is here or somewhere else.
“While they pull on this jersey, training or playing, their full focus will be here. I’m sure of it.”
Even diehard Hoops fans fear the Champions League is a pipe dream this term with so much rebuilding going on at the club.
Getting to the Europa League group stage this year won’t be a breeze either but Taylor said: “Of course we want to qualify. It is a transitional period.
“There’s a new manager come in, there will be new players coming in, so of course it is. But our focus can’t be on that. Our focus has to be on the team and ourselves come Tuesday night.
“We’ve got good players here, boys who have won a lot of trophies and have been very successful are still here. So, we’ve got to have full belief going into Tuesday night and we will know then.
“It’s come around quick this year, especially as we’re not long back. There’s no time to rest, we need to be ready.
“It’s a massive game and a massive opportunity.
“We are up against a top side. It doesn’t matter what round it is these days, you are up against good sides at every level.
“These teams handle the ball so well and are clinical, so we need to be on it in both legs.
“We’d had a good week’s preparation so we’ll make sure we will be ready.”
Taylor’s joy at finding the net in the Reykjavik romp in the early rounds last term was quickly replaced with the pain of going out of the Champions League after the shock defeat by Ferencvaros.
The full-back insists lessons have been learned and said: “I managed to get a goal in the qualifiers last year. It was the most unconvincing header you will ever see!
“But Ferencvaros was a difficult night and a disappointing night overall. But if you watch the game back the performance level was there. We got done on two slack goals, you could say, and we didn’t take our opportunities.
“That was the reason we didn’t manage to get through to the next round, which was obviously disappointing.
“It’s different this season with two legs over 180 minutes rather than 90 but you can’t rest on that.
“You’ve got to put a performance in over both legs and aim to qualify.”
Taylor is still basking in the Euros afterglow after relishing being part of Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad and the experience has only made him hungry for more.
He said: “It was an unbelievable summer. I loved every minute of it. I didn’t get the chance to get on the pitch but the gaffer stressed before there’s always a role within a squad.
“Just to be involved was a dream come true. It’s given me a massive lift. You want more and the focus is now on the World Cup. When you’ve been part of one, you want to do it again.
“You need to be in good club form to get there and if I can do that, hopefully I can continue to be part of things.”
Taylor faces the usual battle to do so, though, with Celts linked with countless left-backs and even youngster Adam Montgomery now applying pressure from within.
But the 23-year-old said: “That is life at a club this size. There’s always competition and you need to rise to it. This season I’m hoping to play as much as I can, regardless of who comes in or who is here.
“Adam has done well since he came in but there’s competition all over the pitch.
“It’s about doing what you can in training and in games, setting standards for yourself and everyone else.
“I love playing for Celtic, every opportunity I get I try to do my best.
“I think I’ve done well and I hope to continue being successful, both as a collective and individually, so that will be the aim for this season coming.”
Taylor wants to stay in the new gaffer’s good books, with another run-out against Bristol City tonight before the squad heads back to Glasgow after 10 days in South Wales.
He added: “The gaffer is quite quiet. He’s loud and clear when he’s training but away from it he is quite reserved and I think that’s his way of managing.
“I think that’s the same with every manager, you don’t want to get on their bad side. That never ends well and he’s no different.
‘The preparations have gone well, we’ve had a good week down in Wales. We’re learning new things under the gaffer.
“Bristol City are a good Championship side, so it will be a tough test and we’ll need to be at it. The full focus will be on Tuesday night.”
