Celtic's Gustaf Lagerbielke reacts to Champions League draw

You’ve just found out who you’ll be facing in the Chanpions League this season. How much are you looking forward to it, and what do you make of the group?

I look forward very much to it. I think it’s an exciting group. Yes, it’s difficult games, but it’s going to be a fun challenge and experience, and we aim to get through to the next stages.

Are these the types of games that made you want to move to Celtic, testing yourself against some of the best players in the world?

Yeah, one of the reasons was that, of course. Every young kid dreams of playing in the Champions League and now I get the opportunity to do so. It’s going to be really nice.

Are there any of the fixtures that stand out to you? in particular, Atletico Madrid maybe? 

Yeah of course. Atletico are a good team, but the main experience is going to be playing here at Paradise on European nights. I knew that before, but the draw was fun.

There’s another big game this weekend. Just how much are you looking forward to that one?

Much so. The derby is a big game and we’ve had a really good training week so we look forward to the game.

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It’s maybe been a tough couple of weeks for everyone at the club, but are you confident this is the type of game that you maybe need to up the levels?

I think everyone that played the derby - I’ve played in a few derbies in my playing career - those games you just forget everything that happened before. It’s 100 per cent focus on that game, so we’re going to go in there and give everything out, and hopefully, we get a good result from there.

What’s your knowledge of big European nights at Celtic Park?

I’ve seen some clips on YouTube, where the noise gets really loud. I remember Celtic playing Barcelona here at home - winning 2-1 - so that’s my main memory from Celtic Park.

That was a few years ago. You must have been a young kid when you watched that?

Yeah, I was young. I remember Celtic not having a lot of possession, but still managed to get a great result, so hopefully we can create new memories this year.

That result shows that on any given night, Celtic can beat any team at Celtic Park?

Yeah, and that’s what we think about the Champions League also. We go into every game with the idea that we’re going to win every game, no matter who the opponents are. We go in to win the game we’re playing and it doesn’t matter who we play.

Are you confident of qualifying out of the group stage? 

That’s what we aim towards. We take one game at a time, it’s a boring question. We look to win the next game.

What’s it like watching the draw when you’ve watched this competition for years, but to know you’re part of it and to see your team get pulled out of a draw alongside these world-class sides?

It’s a bit surreal at first, but we’ve had good results in the past to make us come here to the Champions League. Then you just look forward to playing these games and against these big teams.

As the groups are getting drawn, are you seeing ones that you think “I don’t want that one, I want that one.” or do you sit back and just see what happens?

I think the thing with the Champions League is that all the groups are going to be good, so it doesn’t really work hoping for one group. Every group is going to be tough, and this group that we’ve got is also really tough. We’re just looking forward to the challenge.

You mentioned big nights here at Celtic Park. Being realistic, if you want to progress to the next stage, do you have to win games here? Is this where you pick up your points, and where you have a chance?

Yeah, I think so. With the fans having our back, and the atmosphere that can be created here, we have a higher chance of winning here at home, and so hopefully we can use that to our advantage and get some points here.

How have you found the first couple of weeks, because you’re still waiting for your first win, and you’ve been thrown in at the deep end where there’s been a couple of difficult results for the club. How has that been to try and settle in and try and find your feet?

It’s been a hectic few weeks. A lot of new information, new names, new personalities to get to know and new players on the pitch in terms of knowing what everyone is good at and their weaknesses. I think it feels better and better every day for me personally with a lot of new players in the team. I think we together as a group just grow stronger and stronger every day. The training the last few days has been really good, and so we look forward to the game this Sunday.

You’ve been thrown in, you’ve seen the reaction to a couple of poor results. Has that been a quick education in what life is like here? You don’t win a game, then all of a sudden the pressure is on?

No, I think I knew that before. Celtic is a great club with great expectations also. Both the players and fans expect us to win the games we play, and that’s the mindset we go into every game. It’s disappointing when we don’t win, but we give our best every game, and these two last results haven’t been great. But we look forward to the next game and getting a result from there.

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New centre-backs seem to arrive at Celtic every week now. There’s another one today. What’s your reaction when you see that, and have you had a chance to speak to Nat Phillips?

Yeah, I’ve spoken to him, and he was training today also. He looked like a great player, he has played for good clubs - and that’s a good history - so yeah I look forward to getting to know him as a player and as a person.

But a chance to say to him “I want to keep my place. good player but I want to play.”?

Yeah, every player wants to play. I think it’s just good with the competition inside a team to get everyone on their toes and to become better every day to get a starting position.