PRESSURE in the Champions League group stage?

Don't you believe it.

The real tension is not when you are going toe-to-toe with Europe's elite, but when you are trying to book your place in their company.

Which is why Neil Lennon was so impressed by the way his players handled the potentially-tricky task of disposing of Cliftonville in the second qualifying round.

Falter at that stage, and Europe is over for the entire season.

It was the fate which befell Bate Borisov, who qualified for the groups of the Champions League last season.

The Belarusian side did not disgrace themselves when in among the big boys, even defeating Bayern Munich at home.

But they were brought back down to earth with a bump this week when Shakhter Karagandy, from Kazakhstan, repeated their 1-0 victory from their first leg meeting to send Bate crashing out.

It's the inherent danger which comes with being forced to enter the qualifying process so early, and one which had Celtic on edge.

Now, after a 3-0 win in Belfast and a 2-0 victory at Parkhead, all eyes are trained on Elfsborg in the third qualifying round.

This time, failure comes with the safety net of a place in the play-off round for the group stage of the Europa League.

But that does not ease the pressure on a group of players who have set their sights on the Champions League play-offs, then the groups of Europe's premier competition.

The relief when Celtic disposed of Helsingborgs to get into the draw last August was tangible, now matched by the desire to repeat the feat this time around.

But nerve will have to be held for another four games before that important milestone in the season can be passed.

And Lennon believes invaluable experience gained 12 months ago is already proving worth its weight in gold – potentially £15million's worth.

"There is more pressure in these games than in the group stage matches and I think that's understandable," said Lennon as he drew breath again after the whirlwind start to the season.

"Once you get into the group stage, you can enjoy it.

"But when you are playing in the second qualifying round, you know that if you lose you are out of Europe.

"Even in the next round, if we don't get past Elfsborg, we are out of the Champions League and go into the play-off for the Europa League.

"But we know where we are, and that everyone here wants the Champions League group stage.

"It's what we have been preparing for over the past month or so."

The reward for all that hard work at Lennoxtown and in Germany and Austria, where the warm up games were played, came in the form of comfortable, comprehensive victories over the champions of Northern Ireland.

For all his confidence in his group of players, Lennon did not know how they would perform until they crossed the white line.

They did not let him down, and the Hoops boss received a bonus in the form of a clean bill of health, an important aspect, given how quickly the remaining qualifiers arrive.

Lennon said: "We were delighted to get through the tie against Cliftonville unscathed.

"We know we have a step up in class now when we play Elfsborg, but the players are fully aware of that as well.

"We will have them watched when they play this weekend (Atvidaberg away) so that we have the most up-to-date information about them for next week's first leg tie at Parkhead."

The fact Elfsborg beat off strong opposition from Malmo and Helsingborgs to win the Swedish title last December – they operate a calendar league – has already flagged up their quality.

They trail Malmo by five points with 16 games of this season's Allsvenskan gone, but believe they are good enough to make an impact in Europe while mounting a serious challenge in defence of their title.

"Johan Mjallby knows them quite well and Elfsborg are a good team," said Lennon, showing them respect without inducing any fear among his own players.

The fact Celtic must face the champions of Sweden a round earlier than they did last season, with the prospect of facing even stronger 
opposition in the play-off round, emphasises how much tougher their passage to the group stage is this year.

Wisely, Lennon is attempting to get his side to move through the gears as they move through the rounds, 
and expects his players to strip fitter when Elfsborg face them on Wednesday.

He said: "We need to try to get up to our best, and we have another week to prepare for the first leg against Elfsborg.

"That's actually a long time at this stage of the season. So I am fairly confident we will be okay for all the games coming up.

"A few of the lads are still looking a little bit short, in terms of sharpness.

"But, overall, the players do not look too bad."

The Celtic manager continued: "I hope we can get guys like Charlie Mulgrew, Joe Ledley and Adam Matthews involved in Saturday's friendly match against Borussia Munchengladbach.

"That's important at this stage because we want to have as many players possible available for the tough run of games ahead of us.

"We probably won't start these guys on Saturday because they have been out for so long, Adam since we played Juventus in March.

"I will go by what my 
medical team tell me, but we will at least look to give them half an hour or 45 minutes at the weekend."

Unfortunately, one man who won't be involved for the foreseeable future is defender Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutch signing broke a bone in his right foot during the pre-season games in Germany for the Hoops, and Lennon confirmed: "He will be another couple of weeks, anyway, in that protective boot.

"He may make the second leg against Elfsborg, at a push."