Rangers struggles are IRRELEVANT to Celtic as former striker sees sign Champions League next level is imminent

Simon Donnelly reckons Brendan Rodgers is ready to steer Celtic onto the next level in Europe - driven by their Italian job against Atalanta.

The former Hoops striker is relishing Tuesday’s clash with RB Leipzig at Parkhead where another positive result will keep Celtic on track for a knockout round play-off spot. Rodgers and his players hit a major Champions League match day two bump in the road in Dortmund when the Germans dished out a 7-1 thrashing that had critics lining up to rubbish their ability to match the big guns. But those accusations were answered with a resilient display in Italy to shut out Serie A high fliers Atalanta and earn a precious point that sees the Hoops sit 20th in the table with four points from their opening three games.

Donnelly reckons the belief gained from that performance in Bergamo can be the turning point in the Euro campaign for Rodgers and his players. Tuesday night's visit of the side sitting second in the Bundesliga marks the halfway stage in the league phase campaign. After that comes a home clash with Club Brugge, a trip to Dinamo Zagreb, Young Boys at Parkhead and finally a Battle of Britain in Birmingham with Aston Villa.

And asked if he believes Celtic have enough to reach the next stage, Donnelly said: “I hope so. There were signs of it in the Atalanta game. Now they have a huge game against Leipzig which will be another real test. They bounced back from the disappointment of the Dortmund game strongly.

“They did really well in that Atalanta game. A lot of people wrote them off. They showed they can dig in away from home against a strong European outfit and come back with a result. I think that’s turned their campaign around. Now they have to kick on and try to get a result