Celtic ‘will be back to compete’ in the Champions League – Elena Sadiku

Sadiku has not even celebrated one year in the job yet, but the Swede has already ticked off a number of firsts.

Celtic’s maiden SWPL title win back in May parachuted them to the champions qualifying pathway of Europe’s elite competition, which they negotiated successfully for the first time to reach the group stages.

When the draw was made and Women’s Super League winners Chelsea, Spanish giants Real Madrid and Dutch champions Twente were grouped with the Glasgow club, Celtic faced an almighty task to compete.

While the Scottish side struggled a tad on their travels, only once did they concede more than three goals – the 4-0 defeat in Madrid, of which three were let in in the final 20 minutes.

For large parts of that match at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano and throughout the campaign, they have probed, prodded and posed a threat to some of the continent’s finest.

Small margins – mostly fatigue and slips of concentration – have proved costly, though, which was again the case against Twente.

For the hosts’ first, Celtic failed to clock and clear a cutback, while the two unfortunate own goals that followed were down to lapses in attention.

But Sadiku insists competing and learning what it takes to make an impact at this level will stand them in good stead for future appearances.

“We have the knowledge now of what it takes to compete in the Champions League at the back of our minds,” she said.

“That needs to be the hunger and motivation every time we train and play.

“We want to keep getting even better so the next time we play in the Champions League we will compete better.”

To do that, Celtic must defend their SWPL title, which their full focus will now return to.

The reigning champions head into their final game of the year against Spartans on Sunday (13:00 GMT) in fifth place and trail leaders Glasgow City by nine points, but do have two games in hand.

After defeat by Real Madrid last week, Sadiku said she “can’t wait” to return her full focus to domestic duties and hopes this season’s European experience will provide her team with even more fuel to defend their title.

“In the new year when we come back to normal weeks of training, it’s all about working hard and training with high intensity because we need to be prepared to dominate in the league,” she added.

“We’re strong and we need to believe in it as well because I want to be more successful with this team. I want to win everything that we can win and that has to be the motivation.”