Thomas Rogne expecting a tough league campaign for Celtic

Celtic defender Thomas Rogne believes nothing is going to come easily to the team this season, despite the absence of main rivals Rangers.

The 22-year-old Norwegian is preparing to start the Hoops campaign this week with the Champions League visit of HJK Helsinki to Celtic Park.

Asked if the team’s overwhelming favourites status in the SPL would put added onus on the European games, Rogne said he was taking nothing for granted on the home front.

He said: “I hear people saying that we’re going to win the league easily but that’s not going to happen.

“I don’t know why they say it, to provoke it a little bit probably.

“It’s going to be tough - it’s always tough to win games so it’s going to be tough to win the league.”

Rogne, likely to start at the heart of Celtic defence against the Finnish outfit on Wednesday, said last year’s Europa League games gave them a taste for foreign matches.

He said: “We have a chance to get into Europe and that’s important for us.

“We played in the Europa League last year and we quite enjoyed that and if we get the chance to play in the Champions League this year it’s going to be even bigger.

“That’s where everyone wants to be and hopefully we can take a Scottish team into the Champions League.”

Related articles

People who read this story also read