THIS evening (Thursday), Celtic play Riga FC of Latvia, away from home, in their single-leg UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. Scott Brown expects a tough game, but knows the rewards in getting through the tie speak for themselves.

Despite travelling one day earlier than they otherwise would, Brown told this week's Celtic View, on sale now, that he and his colleagues' preparation remains unchanged as they target progression to the tournament's play-off qualifying round next week.

“The preparation stays the same, everyone throughout the whole team, the squad, the backroom staff, we all do the exact same that we’ve done for the last several years – for me 14 years,” said Brown. “We’ll always prepare the same way, whether that’s a one-legger or a two-legger, no matter what happens, we need to make sure we try and win the game.

"We might need to press a little bit higher, maybe we’ll switch up the formation or the starting XI, these are all calls for the manager and the coaches in due course.

“We’ve looked hard at the opposition, we’ve looked at how they play, how they shape up and we’re ready to deal with it. The lads are looking forward to it and we want to make sure we do everything we can to qualify for the Europa League. This will be a big step for us."

The captain said he and his team-mates don't need extra motivation to win games, but did admit if ever there was something to drive them in European competition, it's last season's Europa League group stage campaign.

He added: “The Europa League was phenomenal for us last season, we had so many great results and so many top performances. We obviously want to be there again and get another good draw. We won on Italian soil for the first time in the club’s history with that win against Lazio in Rome last year – but we need to make sure we get there first before we can start thinking about that.”

To read the full interview with Scott Brown, pick up the latest issue of the Celtic View.

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Celtic View Exclusive: The captain on Europa preparations