CELTIC fans desperately wanted their club to qualify for the Champions League this season and were devastated when they came up just short.

So the prospect of taking on a major European name like Inter Milan in the last 32 of the Europa League is an exciting one for them.

It is certainly a game that I am looking forward to myself.

I have really enjoyed commentating on the Europa League this season.

I have been singing the praises of this competition for some time.

I think many people in England look down their noses at it and try to tell us that it is no good. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Okay, the quality is not quite as high as the Champions League.

But there are still some fine teams in it and a lot of good football is played.

And the meeting between Celtic and Inter Milan is certainly highly attractive for any football supporter.

It will, of course, evoke wonderful memories of the Parkhead club's historic victory in the European Cup in 1967.

I cover Italian football for BT Sport and have probably seen Inter Milan more than any other team this season. I have watched them eight or nine times.

A lot has been made of the fact they are struggling at the moment and are well down the Serie A table.

But Roberto Mancini replaced Walter Mazzarri last month and has implemented changes. They are very much a team in transition.

Mancini has, for instance, scrapped the back three that Mazzarri favoured and has moved to a back four.

They defeated Chievo away on Monday.

Inter have also done well in the Europa League and topped Group F after going undefeated in all six of their games.

The San Siro club still have, despite their domestic difficulties, some extremely talented players.

They also have a far greater wage bill than Celtic.

So this will not be a straightforward tie for Ronny Deila's men.

They may, despite being probed by Uefa for allegedly breaching Financial Fair Play rules, strengthen in January before the tie against the Scottish champions.

There is a lot of talk about Argentinian striker Mauro Icardi being sold. There is certainly a lot of interest in him.

But even if he is offloaded there are a lot of players for Celtic to be concerned about - not least Mateo Kovacic.

The 20-year-old Croatian internationalist is not called The Little Genius for nothing. He makes things happen for Inter.

He is an excellent passer of the ball and I think we are going to be hearing a lot about him in the next few years.

His club is still trying to work out the best position for him.

Do they play him in an attacking role? Or is he utilised in a deep-lying position like Andrea Pirlo?

But Mancini has put his arm around his shoulders and promised to mentor him since taking over and it will be interesting to see how he develops.

Kovacic is not the only talented player.

In fact, when you look through the side it is hard to identify any areas of weakness.

Their general style of play has not been especially impressive.

They have been fairly plodding. But they are just a good result of two away from a Europa League place.

Inter fans, like their Celtic counterparts, feel their club should be competing in the Champions League.

They won it when Jose Mourinho was manager in 2010.

One of the ways they can qualify is to win the Europa League.

I think Celtic will be doing well, very well, to overcome them and progress in the competition.