CELTIC midfielder Paul Hartley is relieved his team do not face another tough Champions League qualifier.
The Hoops ensured they would go straight into the group stages when they clinched their third successive title in May. They did not have the same luxury last season when they came through an epic clash with Spartak Moscow on penalties.
Celtic can
instead concentrate on making a strong start to their Clydesdale Bank Premier League title defence, which begins against St Mirren on August 10.
Before then, arch-rivals Rangers will have played two Champions League qualifying games, almost certainly against Vladimir Romanov's FBK Kaunas, who beat Andorran side Santa Coloma 4-1 in their away leg of the first qualifying round.
Rangers would need to come through another round to make the group stage, the second leg of which comes in between trips to Aberdeen and Celtic Park.
Hartley said: "That's the thing when you win the league, you go straight into the Champions League, so it is a big relief for anyone.
"When you go into the qualifying games you know you are going to come up against a very good team, and Spartak were a very good team."
Hartley feels Celtic are well on course to get off to a winning start in the SPL after the early stages of Gordon Strachan's pre-season training. "We have been back nearly two weeks now and the boys are looking so fit, probably the fittest squad we have had," said the 31-year-old former Hearts star.
The full article contains 262 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
