CURTAIL THE CHAOS, LADS

Cal: No repeat of Kazakh tie in '17

- Ryan McDonald

CELTIC V KAIRAT ALMATY 8PM, TNT SPORTS 1

CELTIC stand on the brink of history — never before have they qualified for the Champions League proper in four consecutive years.

Now, with Kairat Almaty standing in their way of a place among Europe’s elite, another £40million windfall is on the line.

There’s no doubt in Callum McGregor’s mind his side belong on the biggest stage.

The captain has racked up more than a century of European appearances under four different managers.

From the highs of going toe to toe with Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, to the lows of losing to Cluj and Ferencvaros, it has been a rollercoaster.

But after reaching the knockouts last season, only to suffer a sucker punch with the final kick of the ball at Bayern Munich, McGregor is convinced this group can go further, starting with tonight’s first leg against the Kazakhs at Parkhead.

“T think so,” he said. “We’ve proved it, certainly towards the latter half of last season’s campaign.

“But to be considered a good team you have to keep doing it. You can’t just do it once. You need to keep proving you’re good at this level.

“Hopefully the lads will have felt that over the last 12 months and will arrive into this game with the belief we can get through the tie and be in there again.