Armstrong confident Celtic can dump Vigo out of Cup

GERRY ARMSTRONG is confident Celtic can dump Celta Vigo out of the UEFA Cup - but he warned the Glasgow side not to pin their hopes on winning the trophy.

Martin O’Neill’s men have already progressed past Premiership side Blackburn to earn a place in the third round.

They now face another difficult task in the first leg tomorrow against Celta - a team are sixth in La Liga above clubs like Barcelona and Deportivo La Coruna.

Former Northern Ireland international Armstrong - an ex-team-mate and friend of O’Neill - works as a television pundit on Spanish football and he insists Celta’s inconsistency this season could cost them .

But he believes the biggest danger to Celtic’s European campaign will be teams who failed to make the second group stages of the Champions League and have had to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup.

Armstrong said: ‘‘It would be great for the fans and the players, as well as Martin, to do well.

‘‘Having an extended run in Europe always keeps players going and the financial rewards are good as well so there are two or three good reasons to try to stay in the competition.

‘‘But the trapdoor means that teams like Liverpool and Auxerre are in the competition now, as well as teams like Celtic who have come through a few rounds already, and that means the UEFA Cup is really tough this year.

‘‘There is some real quality in there now and, when you look at some of those sides, I would say that this is as tough a UEFA Cup as I’ve ever seen.’’

Like Celtic, Celta started their own domestic campaign well, notching up four wins from their opening four games.

Recent weeks have seen them slump to defeat against Real Betis and being forced to settle for a draw at home against struggling Osasuna.

But Armstrong has warned Celtic not to underestimate the threat of Alexander Mostovoi, Celta’s Russian midfielder.

Armstrong added: ‘‘On their day, Celta Vigo can beat anyone.”