Bhoys to face old rivals

Celtic could be given the opportunity to dump HJK Helsinki out of Europe for the second time in two years.

The Hoops will take on either the Finnish side or MTK Hungaria in the third qualifying round of the Champions League - assuming Martin O'Neill's men can progress past FBK Kaunas first.

Henrik Larsson grabbed a double at Parkhead when Celtic met HJK at Parkhead in 2001 but they just managed to scrape through to a UEFA Cup second-round meeting with Bordeaux after the Finnish side defeated their Glasgow rivals in the second leg.

Celtic previously played MTK Budapest, as they were then known, in the European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final in the 1963-64 season when the Hoops lost 4-3 on aggregate after being up 3-0 in the first leg.

Should Celtic progress past Kaunas, they will be hoping to enjoy more success in the third qualifying round than they did last year.

The Hoops were stunned when they were denied a place in the money-spinning group stages of the competition by underdogs FC Basle.

Celtic were devastated to miss out on the Champions League but recovered enough to embark on an amazing UEFA Cup run, which took them all the way to the final before being defeated by Porto in Seville on a `silver' goal.

But their appetite will have been whetted by their displays in the Champions League the year before when they were unlucky to miss out on a place in the lucrative second group stage, following decent performances against Juventus, Porto and Rosenborg.

One player who is hoping to be part of this year's European run is Bobby Petta.

Off-field problems - including the break up of the player's marriage - led to a lose of form and he made just five appearances for Celtic last season - but he is determined to resurrect his career after taking part in the friendly against Fulham at Loftus Road.

He told www.celticfc.net: "I'm happy with the way I've come back, and I think I can say that's because I feel more at ease within my own mind.

"Sorting myself out mentally was always the most important thing, and now I've done that, it's left me feeling a lot better physically, too.

"For me, the mental side of things is the most important.

"When I go out on the field, I need to be fully focused. What I don't need is distractions, and fortunately at the moment I don't have any.

"It's a big group here at Celtic, and I'm one of the players who can put himself in contention.

"The thing with me is that everyone knows what I'm capable of, and I think they know that, once I'm back to that level, I can still be a good player for this club."