Celtic's game of chicken begins - and poker players should be sitting comfortably next week

It seems a little unfair for a team that reached the knockout stages last season and performed so admirably in European football's top-tier competition to be given such a task. With Scottish football's UEFA coefficient having slipped in recent seasons, this is the by-product: a two-legged shoot-out with Kazakh champions Kairat Almaty.

Celtic have not successfully navigated a Champions League qualification campaign since midway through current manager Brendan Rodgers' first spell in charge of the club. Back in the 2017/18 campaign, they defeated another team from Kazakhstan - Astana - to qualify for the group stages. Since then, at various hurdles they have lost to AEK Athens, CFR Cluj, Ferencvaros and Midtjylland. Nobody is taking Kairat lightly.

Memories of running Bayern Munich close in Bavaria just six months ago have long dissipated into the air. Facing Kairat is not a glamorous tie. Their home city of Almaty is further east than Afghanistan, on the outer reaches of UEFA's span. Kairat edged past Slovan Bratislava - a side that Celtic spanked 5-1 in the Champions League last year - in the last qualifying round on penalties. They chucked away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 on domestic duty at the weekend. Celtic are warm favourites to progress.

Much has been made of Celtic's transfer business so far this summer and the lack of arrivals. The fear amongst a jittery fanbase is that Rodgers and his coaching staff have been left short for such a pivotal match. Only left-back Kieran Tierney, signed on a free transfer from Arsenal, and attacking midfielder Benjamin Nygren (£1.5 million signing from FC Nordsjaelland) have made it into Celtic's starting XI. The lack of recruits in the forward line is irritating many.

That would include Rodgers, who has made little secret of his wish for more firepower in his team. Their current No 9 Adam Idah has yet to score this season, while last season's top-scorer Daizen Maeda only opened his account on Friday night.

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Nicolas Kuhn has been sold to Como for £16m and Jota has a long-term knee injury. Doubts remain over the suitability of wide players Yang Hjun-jun and James Forrest for elite-level matches, while the deputies to Idah - young Irishman Johnny Kenny, new Japanese 24-year-old Shin Yamada and Fulham academy player Callum Osmand - are unproven at Champions League level.

It is a narrative that has dominated Celtic's season thus far, although results have not been impacted. In their three competitive matches so far, Rodgers' side have beaten St Mirren 1-0, Aberdeen 2-0 and Falkirk 4-1. Old Firm rivals Rangers have made ten new signings and are in a worse position.

One wonders whether there are some smug smiles in the Celtic board room. Why the mass hysteria? However, with Rodgers entering the last 12 months of his contract, some feel that the directors' reluctance to back him properly before a Champions League qualifier is akin to playing a game of chicken with a manager who previously walked out for Leicester, no doubt partly spurred on by the club's recruitment policy back in 2019.

Celtic do look weaker in the final third of the pitch compared to this time last year. If they have gambled with Champions League qualification, it must be said that even without a swathe of new forwards, Celtic should have enough to beat Kairat. The goal has to be a handsome victory in Glasgow to make the long journey to Kazakhstan a smoother exercise. If not, some of the poker players might sit a little more uncomfortable than perhaps desired.