Brown confident of Euro progress

Celtic captain Scott Brown believes his side have the quality to reach the group stages of the Champions League.

The Hoops will play either HJK Helsinki or KR Reykjavik in the third qualifying round of Europe's premier competition following the draw on Friday. However, with HJK 7-0 up from the first leg it seems certain that the Finnish Champions will be Celtic's opponents. Hoops boss Neil Lennon has already stated the importance of reaching the Champions League group stages given the intensity of Old Firm matches will now be missing thanks to Rangers' liquidation. It is also believed that his transfer budget will largely be dictated by the club's progress in Europe this season, with large swathes of TV money on offer to those sides in the group stages. Brown is convinced the side is good enough to rub shoulders with the elite of European football in the upcoming campaign. "We've definitely got quality in the squad," he told the Daily Record. "We have got to take a lot of pride from the Europa League group last season. That group with Atletico Madrid, Rennes and Udinese was the making of this squad. "We had a lot of new faces but the lads gelled really well. That's why I say there are no excuses now."