Cameron Carter-Vickers confident Celtic have firepower to reach Champions League

Cameron Carter-Vickers believes Celtic have the firepower in an energised squad to avoid a second successive Champions League play-off exit.

The Scottish champions failed to make the league phase last season in a shock loss to Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan in a penalty shoot-out following two goalless draws.

The damaging defeat cost the club about £20m and heightened some off-field friction that was smoothed away in part when Martin O’Neill came in as interim boss for the second time before taking the Hoops to a William Hill Premiership and Scottish Gas Scottish Cup double.

Celtic’s build-up to the first leg of this season’s play-off against Austrian champions LASK on Wednesday night has been encouraging, with three wins out of three and ten goals scored.

Kasper Hogh scored a hat-trick in the 5-1 William Hill Premiership win at Kilmarnock and fellow new striker Camilo Duran notched in the 4-0 Premier Sports Cup win at Dundee United on Saturday, where Egypt winger Haissem Hassan and German midfielder Mika Baur both made their debuts off the bench.

United States international Carter-Vickers said: “New signings do kind of give the group a bit of energy and a bit of momentum and two of the players that have come so far, have really hit the ground running so that’s definitely a positive.

“I think we’ve signed good quality players.

“They’re already shown what they can do and what they are capable so that’s helpful.

“These kind of qualifying ties are always difficult games.

“You are generally playing champions from other countries, teams that know how to win.

“Last year, over two legs, we struggled to score and maybe create chances that was probably our downfall.

“It’s going to be a difficult time no matter who you come up against.

“These qualifiers are always hard so we know we’ve got to be right on it to get the result.

“It’s a competition that we want to be in year in, year out, it’s obviously the best club competition in the world, so it’s good to get in it and compete against the best teams and best players in the world.”