League is still a priority says Valgaeren

Celtic defender Joos Valgaeren believes retaining the league championship would be a more satisfying achievement than lifting the UEFA Cup.

The showdown in Seville with Porto is just a few days away now and the Hoops fans are already looking forward to their first European final in 33 years.

But Celtic are also going neck-and-neck with Rangers for the Bank of Scotland Premier League crown and the Belgian revealed that it was this trophy that was his personal priority.

He said: “Personally I think that all season you are playing for the league so at the end if you lose on goal difference it would be quite painful.

“That is what you are playing for when you start pre-season, when you train every day in the rain and snow.

“So the rest comes as a bonus. Public opinion may go for the UEFA Cup final but personally I think the league is important.

“Even if we won the UEFA Cup we would feel bad when the final whistle goes and we hadn’t won the league.”

Of course, it is possible Valgaeren will end up winning both trophies, especially if Celtic go back on top of the league by beating Dundee at Parkhead tonight.

He admitted: “It is a very lucky place to be for a football player to be in contention to the last minutes of two competitions.”

Manager Martin O’Neill has fitness worries over a number of players however, including John Hartson, Robert Douglas and Alan Thompson.

And O’Neill sounded words of caution to any Hoops fans who thought tonight’s game would be a formality.

He said: “Dundee are such a dangerous side. They are coming with a cup final in the bag and will want to make sure they are ticking over.

“I think they are a dangerous type of opposition and one of the best exponents in the SPL of playing a natural game.”

Celtic clawed back an eight-point disadvantage to overtake Rangers earlier in the month and will regain the summit with a draw.

Only a win would guarantee putting Rangers under severe pressure when they travel to Hearts on Sunday, however, but O’Neill argued that his side were used to coping with the demands of a tight title race.

He said: “There would not have been too many people who would have given us a hope but we have fought our way back into it.

“We are still chasing it and because of that I think there will be less tension in the players than there would be normally.

“I think their efforts show they are determined not to give it up without a proper fight.”