Matthews: Good Run Must Continue

Photo by Jeff Holmes

Adam Matthews is looking for Celtic to take their title-winning form through the summer and into the Champions League qualifiers next season.

The Hoops go to Aberdeen on Sunday as Scottish Premiership champions with a Scottish League Cup trophy win also to show for Ronny Deila's first campaign as Parkhead manager.

However, while the Norwegian was trying to make his mark at the Glasgow club at the start of the season he passed up on two chances to get into European football's elite club competition.

After losing 6-1 to Legia Warsaw on aggregate, Celtic were reprieved due to an administrative error on the part of the Polish club but were then knocked out at the play-off stage by Slovenian outfit Maribor.

Matthews is confident of a better European show when the Champions League qualifiers begin in mid-July if Celtic reproduce their recent form. They have lost only one league game since the turn of the year.

The 23-year-old Wales defender said: "It was tough when (Deila) came in, it took us a while to adapt to what he wanted to do.

"We really should have beaten Maribor in the qualifiers but we didn't.

"But since Christmas we have really pushed on and I have really enjoyed it. If we can start next season the way we finished this season we can get to the Champions League, which is our first aim.

"It is very important for everybody at Celtic. It's a massive club that belongs in the Champions League.

"Every player who has had a taste of it wants to be back and I'm sure if we start the way we finished this season, we'll be back.

"We want to start the league well, go well in the cups and hopefully win the treble, that is our aim."

Aberdeen have been Celtic's nearest challengers in the league this season, albeit they have lost the three previous meetings between the teams and are 11 points behind ahead of Sunday's encounter.

Matthews wants the Parkhead side to keep going in the final three games of the season to demonstrate why they are champions for the fourth successive year.

The former Cardiff defender said: "Aberdeen have pushed us this season and we want to show them that we deserved to win the league.

"When you play at Celtic you always have pressure from the manager and fans.

"We want to finish the season as strongly as we can and even though we have won the league we want to get maximum points from the last few games.

"But all credit to Aberdeen, they really pushed us to the last few games of the season."