Ange Postecoglou's Celtic has former star pining for Parkhead return as he relishes Champions League challenge

Tom Boyd didn’t get the glory of playing for Celtic in the group stage of the Champions League.

But he’s been to enough of the games at Parkhead to know Ange Postecoglou’s team are in for a treat.

And Boyd is convinced the Aussie’s squad can make an impact due to the desire of the manager to make the club genuine competitors again on the biggest stage.

Now the former skipper isn’t playing, he’s actually feeling a tiny tinge of disappointment that there’s no qualifiers this time around.

That’s only because he doesn’t want the summer to drag and does want back in the stadiums to see Postecoglou’s men in full flight again as soon as possible.

But he’s serious when it comes to the bigger picture. Automatic placement into the groups is beneficial on a host of levels.

Additional secured finance to help boost the coffers and assist with quality recruitment. The knowledge superstars are heading back to Glasgow’s East End and that there’s also some extra rest time for the troops.

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Boyd is excited about the return. When Celtic qualified for the first time 21 years ago, he was amongst the Martin O’Neill unit who made it happen.

The ex-Scotland defender was involved in the successful two-legged shoot-out