STEPHEN WELSH stood open-mouthed as a young fan when Celtic Park exploded on a famous Champions League night 14 years ago, and dreamed of the day he would be in the centre of such a storm, viewing it from the playing field.

As it has turned out though, since becoming a regular in the Celtic first team he has played most his football in front of an empty stadium. And during the collective nightmare endured by Celtic last season, the prospect of the club competing on the Champions League stage seemed a remote one.

Now though, there is a fresh start, with Ange Postecoglou arriving as manager and a raft of new players set to follow. There is also a Champions League qualifier to look forward to next month, with yesterday’s draw pairing Celtic with Danish side FC Midtjylland.

Given the state of flux at the club, it will be a tall order for Postecoglou to get his side in ship-shape condition for that tie, but Welsh is already dreaming of welcoming back the big names of world football to Celtic Park.

“I had a season ticket a few years ago, so you were going to watch the likes of Barcelona and Man United, watching (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi,” Welsh recalled.

“These are the games you want to play in, that’s the highest level and it’s the level us as players want to play at. It’s the level Celtic should be at as well.

“We beat AC Milan and Scott McDonald scored the winner. That was probably the best Champions League game I’ve been to in my time being a fan.

“I was only seven or eight, and I can always remember that night. It was a last minute winner, and the atmosphere that night was unbelievable. Being a young kid going to that, it’s something I had never experienced before.

“We’ll be looking to get that again.”

It isn’t only memories of the successes of the distant past that are firing Welsh up though, but more recent memories of Champions League failure. The qualifying defeat to Ferencvaros last summer still stings, and rather set the tone for what was to follow.

“I think it’s always a huge disappointment when Celtic don’t go through to the Champions League,” he said.

“So, we’ll be looking to rectify that as best we can, and go and put in a good performance against Midtjylland and we’ll see where that can take us.”

“For the size of the club [that’s where we should be aiming]. It will help the club financially . As players we want to play at the highest level possible. The highest level is the Champions League so that’s where we want to play.

“We’ve got high hopes that we can get through this tie first and foremost. That’s all we are focusing on right now.”

There is of course a Celtic connection to FC Midtjylland, with former Parkhead defender Erik Sviatchenko currently on their books.

The centre-back has this week in fact been linked with a move back to the club, and Welsh is looking forward to reuniting with a man he looked up to as a youngster, whether that be just for this tie or in the longer term.

“Erik was a regular when I started training with the first team and he was someone I looked up to,” he said.

“He was great player for us and he’s done well for Midtjylland since going there.

“We know he’s a great defender and he’s a big personality. He helped me a lot. He talked me through training sessions, spoke to me afterwards and just helped me with the basics. I was only 16 or 17 and he was a great help bringing me on.

“He’s also a bit trendy for a centre half but he didn’t give me any fashion advice! Maybe I should have asked him. Centre halves don’t really tend to be trendy but he was.

“He’s just a lovely big guy and an even better player.”

The friendship will be placed to one side though if the pair face up to one another next month, with Welsh hoping his dream of playing in the Champions League in front of supporters can be realised.

“Hopefully we can get fans back by then,” he said. “It would give us a lot of confidence playing in front of them at Celtic Park again. It’ such a big stadium so it felt so empty [last season].

“Watching the Euros, and seeing a full stadium the other night, the atmosphere was brilliant. Even with just a few thousand the atmosphere can change, especially at Celtic Park, which can be such a daunting place for away teams.

“If there’s only a few thousand, we’ll take it. We just can’t wait to get the fans back in.”