Celtic could be without that important 12th man factor generated by the cauldron of Parkhead should they contest the Champions League qualifiers at the beginning of next season.
It emerged yesterday that the Scottish champions are weighing up a move along the M8 to Murrayfield for the preliminary matches of Europe's elite competition if they retain their domestic title this season.
Celtic Park is to host the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games on July 23 and its role in the Glasgow showpiece would prevent any football being played at the east end venue in the build up and immediate aftermath. That would mean Neil Lennon's side would have to find an alternative home for Champions League qualifying round two and, possibly, round three, but Stephen Frail, Celtic's Under-20s coach, has his reservations about taking vital European ties to the home of Scottish rugby.
Frail was on the backroom staff at Heart of Midlothian when they played a friendly with Barcelona and a UEFA Cup qualifying match with Ferencvaros at Murrayfield.
Asked if there was a danger of losing home advantage should Celtic be forced into a similar move, Frail said: "Definitely, without question. I think that happened to Hearts. People obviously know what the atmosphere at Tynecastle can be like. And there are a lot more people here on a European night. So it would be disappointing if we did have to play there."
Hearts' glamour friendly with Barcelona in 2007 attracted almost 58,000 supporters to Murrayfield but Frail maintains that the unique Celtic Park atmosphere would be difficult to replicate in the capital.
"We played Barcelona when I was at Hearts and got a decent crowd, but it's still not a football stadium as such," he said. "Murrayfield was okay. The atmosphere was decent, but I'm just not sure about that one. It nothing like you would get here [at Celtic Park]. It was a very strange experience. The actual facilities at Murrayfield are excellent, the dressing rooms and everything surrounding them. And the surface was fine.
"We trained there a few times and you could see it was decent. But it was just a wee bit detached from the main stand. There is a running track and it seemed quite far away."
Frail added: "The surface was decent enough for football. I wouldn't say it's like Celtic Park, but not many are. I'm sure the players would get a training session or two on it but it does become more like an away game because it's not your own surroundings."
The Aviva Stadium in Dublin has been touted as another possible venue while grounds in the north of England have also been suggested. UEFA regulations, though, state that matches must be played either at the club's home ground or "a ground in the same or another city within the territory of its association".
Frail said: "There are top stadia like the Aviva and great stadiums in England. I'm not decrying Murrayfield, because it is a fantastic facility. But maybe a move to one of the other options would be better. You want to make the game as partisan as possible and it certainly is that here [at Celtic Park]. But if Murrayfield is the only option, then so be it."
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