Benjamin Nygren is adamant the Europa League is not an unwanted distraction for Celtic during their three-way fight for the Scottish title.
Victory at home to off-form Utrecht on Thursday night will earn Celtic a place in the knockout stage.
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“I think every competition we’re in is very important,” said Nygren.
“We want to do well in every competition we’re in. Celtic is a massive club and a massive club should be and do well in more competitions than just the league.”
The Sweden attacker, Celtic’s top scorer this season with 13 goals, has appeared in all of the club’s European ties since joining from Danish side Nordsjaelland last summer.
He says the prospect of playing in Europe was one of the things that attracted him to Celtic.
“It’s very important. I said it before I came here. I think Celtic has everything. Everyone in the world, almost everyone, knows about Celtic,” he added.
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“Since I was a kid I wanted to play in European competition and you always want to go as far as possible and win the tournament you’re in.”
Like the rest of his team-mates he’d rather Celtic were playing Champions League football this season instead of the second-tier competition.
A penalty shoot defeat by Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty after two goalless draws resulted in Celtic dropping into the Europa.
“Everyone knows it hasn’t been as we’ve all wanted,” said Nygren. Of course, we wanted to play in the biggest competition but we can still make a lot out of this season. We would be very happy of course if we go through.”
[BBC]