Maribor, St Johnstone and resolving Murrayfield

Did you watch the European Super Cup from Cardiff last night?  Europa League champions Sevilla lost out to Real Madrid but the team from Andalucía got there after beating Maribor 4-3 on aggregate.  The Slovenian’s narrow defeat deserves some context: Sevilla also eliminated Real Betis, Porto, Valencia and Benfica.

Make no mistake, we’re up against a decent European team.  More on them later in the week.

Tonight it’s St Johnstone, who, like Celtic, have sharpened their wits with European football in recent weeks, and well as enjoying an opening day win in Dingwall at the weekend.  They have lost their talisman, Stevie May, which is a pity, as I would like to see the Celtic defence stretched as much as possible this week, but they will be as ready as any domestic opponent we could face at the moment.

Ronny Deila has two short games to sort out game plan, shape, partnerships and team spirit, before travelling to Slovenia.  It doesn’t need to be right for tonight, but signs of considerable progress on the Murrayfield debacle is needed.

The Kano Foundation are one of the greatest initiatives from any group of football fans I’ve heard about.  They bring the Celtic experience to childrens’ charities and groups, truly phenomenal work.  The Foundation was founded in the wake of the Bring Martin Home campaign, which brought our very own Kano home from life in a hospital bed.

You’ll see the volunteers outside Celtic Park before kick-off on Saturday with buckets, so make sure you bring something for them.