GLENN LOOVENS is bracing himself for the worst possible draw in the Europa League tomorrow morning - because that's the way Celtic's luck has gone in Europe this season.
Darryl Broadfoot and Ronnie Cully mull over Celtic's 3-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in London, and discuss where the 5-1 aggregate loss leaves the Glasgow club financially ahead of the transfer window closing at the end of the month.
Exclusive from Ronnie Cully in London with Celtic
GLENN LOOVENS is bracing himself for the worst possible draw in the Europa League tomorrow morning - because that's the way Celtic's luck has gone in Europe this season.
The Dutch defender reckons they are due to bit of good fortune after coming out of the hat against Dinamo Moscow - then Arsenal - in the qualifying rounds for the Champions League.
Having disposed of the Russians, the Gunners proved a hurdle too high and won 3-1 last night to go through to tonight's group stage draw on a 5-1 aggregate.
Tony Mowbray's men must take their chance in the new Europa League, and they will at least benefit from a £1.8million parachute payment from Uefa for missing out plus three guaranteed home gates and a new pooled TV payment structure.
But while Celtic will be in Pot Two alongside the likes of Everton, Basel and Fenerbahce, they could still come up against tough opposition.
Among the clubs vying to be top seeds are Werder Bremen, Shakhtar Donetsk, Villarreal, Zenit St Petersburg, Benfica, Valencia and Ajax - while Roma, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon and Panathinaikos are expected to join them.
Lurking in Pot Three are likely to be Lazio, Hertha Berlin, Aston Villa, AEK Athens and Dinamo Bucharest, with Sparta Prague and Slavia Prague and Athletic Bilbao.
Pot Four carries dangers like Fulham or Twente Enschede, but also trips into the relative unknown to face the likes of CFR Cluj or Timisoara in Romania, Litex Lovek in Bulgaria, FK Ventspils in Latvia or Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova.
But going on Lady Luck's current form, Loovens already fears the worst.
He said: "We're very disappointed not to be in the Champions League, but the Europa League would still be a nice prize for us to win.
"We are due a bit of good luck. But we had Dinamo Moscow then Arsenal in the qualifying rounds for the Champions League, so we will probably get the hardest draw possible in this competition as well.
"There are some great teams in the Europa League.
"But in the end you have to beat everyone if you are going to get the final.
"So we will just have to wait to see who is in the group with us."
