FORMER Hearts favourite Pasquale Bruno has slaughtered Inter Milan ahead of tomorrow's clash with Celtic and reckons Italian football is so poor it sends him to sleep.

Inter are sitting in mid-table in Serie A after a disastrous season and Roberto Mancini takes his side to Glasgow today for the Europa League showdown facing a real fight just to qualify for Europe.

Bruno - who was a popular figure at Tynecastle during his two-year spell at Hearts - is disillusioned with football in his country.

And he believes the 2010 Champions League winners are just extremely ordinary these days.

Bruno said: "A few years ago I'd have said there was no chance for Celtic, but in Italy now we are really poor at football.

"We are so bad and we can forget about winning European trophies right now. In the last five years, we have had a big dip.

"There are no big players in Italy anymore. The last two World Cups were very poor. We went out last summer to Costa Rica. That was embarrassing.

"There is no money. Milan and Inter are struggling in this respect. The only club with any money is Juventus, but they don't have money like the English clubs.

"There are no big Italian players and there are a lot of ordinary foreigners in the league now. Look at the last four or five players and you see that Italian clubs struggle to match the big clubs from other countries.

"I don't think we can hope to win a European trophy in the near future. There is no chance. The standard is bad and Italian football is now really, really boring. It's not fast or exciting.

"When I see Juventus, AC and Inter playing, I go to sleep. I'm not interested in the game."

And Bruno, who runs football schools in his homeland, reckons Celtic have a major chance of stunning the San Siro giants.

He pointed out: "I think Celtic have a chance in these two games. If I was asked to bet, I'd saying it's 51-49 in Inter Milan's favour. It's very close.

"The first game is in Glasgow and the atmosphere will be fantastic as always. That will be crucial. This might sound strange but a 0-0 draw might even be a good result for Celtic.

"If Inter score in Glasgow then it will be very difficult for Celtic when they go back to Milan. But if they keep Inter out, then who knows what can happen.

"I'm being honest. Inter are the favourites but I believe that Celtic do have a chance to beat them."

And Bruno, who also played for Torino, Fiorentina and Wigan, believes Inter's problem is they have no stars left in their side.

He said: "Inter signed Nemanja Vidic in the summer, but he is struggling. He's not the same as he was at Manchester United.

"At the back, Inter are very poor. Celtic can profit from the level of the Inter defence. In midfield, they have some good players, but no big players. They are an average team and that's why they are struggling in the league.

"It's surprising to see Inter in the middle of the table when the level of Italian football is so poor. That gives you an idea of the kind of team they are.

"Roberto Mancini has a really hard job at Inter. The last time he was there it was a different story - he had Diego Milito, Esteban Cambiasso, Walter Samuel and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"That was a different time.

"Roberto is a good manager. I like the way he plays football, I appreciate the style he wants from his team - he likes to attack.

"But at the top level, a manager needs top players. Without them, you are an average manager and it's a hard job at Inter when they don't have big money to spend and he can't get good players."