IF Celtic were to be beaten by FC Stjarnan in Champions League qualifying, it would one of the worst results in the club's history.

Our champions are miles better than Iceland's and on paper it's the easiest of games which Ronny Deila could have asked for.

It would be a disaster if Celtic made a mess of it but to my mind that isn't going to happen. I don't buy this tie as a banana skin of any sort.

I watched Stjarnan against Motherwell a year ago, both home and away, and how the Icelandic outfit got through still baffles me. They are not a good team. Far from it, and they can't have got that much better in the space of 12 months.

I honestly believe Celtic will more or less finish off the tie at Parkhead on Wednesday and can then treat the second leg seven days later as a pre-season friendly, part of their summer preparations. That's how simple it should be.

During my time as a player, I took part in a few of these "easy" games and they can at times be tricky if you have a bad day at the office. If you lose, they tend to spend a lot of time in your head.

At Dundee United, we went out to MyPa 47 of Finland when we were 2-0 up at Tannadice and coasting. They scored twice late on to go through on away goals. It was a horrible, dreadful night and one we really should have avoided with some comfort.

With Rangers, we played FC Kaunas and dealt with them quite comfortably because we took them seriously and didn't think the match was won before a ball was kicked. Celtic, I am sure, will do the same with Stjarnan. I can't see them experiencing any difficulties.

Let's be honest, Scottish football needs Celtic to get into the group stage of the Champions League and, indeed, we need all our clubs to go as far as possible in Europe. It's good for them and it's good for the game. It's also time it happened.

It isn't that long ago since the 2007/08 season (although it can feel like it), when we had three clubs in Europe after Christmas. Celtic reached the last 16 of the Champions League, Aberdeen played Bayern Munich in the knock-out stages of the Europa League and, of course, Rangers got to the Uefa Cup final. Those were heady days.

I remember thinking at the time that our game was in pretty good shape. Not many countries the size of Scotland could boast a record like that. Alas it was something of a one-off.

St Johnstone have already been knocked out of Europe League qualifying by Alashkert from Armenia - hardly a country you immediately associate with football excellence.

St Johnstone were much the better side and they really should have won. As with Motherwell a year ago, I came away wondering how the hell that had happened.

Sure, our season hasn't started here in Scotland, but that's not really an excuse.

To be fair, Tommy Wright, the St Johnstone manager, spoke well after the game when he pointed out that he had so many injuries to key players including Simon Lappin, Dave Mackay and Murray Davidson, who is out for a couple of months.

But Tommy knew his team had been put out by inferior opposition. The result must have been a very sore one to take.

If Tommy had had his best team put -or at least close to it - then St Johnstone would have finished off the job on Thursday. Alashkert's goal came from a long ball over the top. St Johnstone will be kicking themselves.

Aberdeen rode their luck to get through against Shkendija from Macedonia, but at least they are still in Europe.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle have yet to start their campaign and it's great to think three of our clubs could enjoy an extended stay this season.

John Collins said recently that Celtic had been let down by the other clubs in terms of the co-efficient, arguing that had they not lost so badly and so often, then his club wouldn't have to play three qualifiers.

He has a point in that we all are selfish and simply look after ourselves. Celtic have been hurt by the failings of others. It's hard to argue against that. However, for me this just re-emphasises the point that for the good of Scotland, we need all our clubs to go as far as they can.