CELTIC became the first British club to conquer Europe exactly 48 years ago today.
Tommy Gemmell was the hero as he blasted in a memorable equaliser to put the Hoops on track for their historic 2-1 European Cup Final triumph over Inter Milan in Lisbon on 25th May 1967.
And the Parkhead legend now believes it is time for Ronny Deila’s men to got into the record books.
He said: “I would love to see Celtic make an impact at this level again.
“This is where a standing of my old club want to compete. I’ve said it often enough, but European nights under the floodlights at Parkhead are something else altogether.
“These are the sort of evenings the current crop of players should want to compete in and where they should want to be judged.
“It was a great effort for Ronny Deila to lift the team’s fourth successive league title in his his first year in Scottish football.
“Yes, it was a bit sticky at the start, but that was to be expected.
“People tend to forget that Celtic had some horrible results after Jock Stein took over in 1965.
“We beat Dunfermline 3-2 to win the Scottish Cup and give the club its first trophy in eight years and that’s what the fans remember.
“However, we also lost 6-2 at Falkirk and 5-1 at Dunfermline in the same campaign with Big Jock in charge.
“Thankfully, we sorted that out and went on to win nine championships in a row.
“Ronny appears to have weathered the storm and he will be looking to make progress.
“It would be great to see Celtic become a big name in Europe again.
“In the meantime, I can look back to Lisbon in ’67 and remember everything like it was yesterday.
“And, hopefully, look forward to some special European nights in the east end of Glasgow next season.”
