Celtic Champions League trek doesn't have to be an issue as former Aberdeen hitman reveals rock star luxury ride

Daily Record

2 days ago

Aberdeen made the same trip to face Kairat Almaty a decade ago - and Adam Rooney remembers the first class transport that came with more than a whiff of showbiz.
Adam Rooney recalls Aberdeen splashing out on the Rolling Stones' old private jet for their Almaty jaunt to Kazakhstan.
‌
The Dons ultimately got no satisfaction from that 9000-mile round trip a decade ago.
‌
But Rooney fancies Celtic to rock back onto European football's biggest stage when Brendan Rodgers' side make the same journey in the Champions League play-off next week.
‌
Aberdeen lost 2-1 away to Kairat in a Europa League qualifier back in 2015 - after spending a reported £200,000 on the chartered flight - before tumbling out after a 1-1 draw in the return leg at PIttodrie.
Celtic face the Kazakhstani champions in a £40m showdown for a glitzy league phase spot with the first leg in Glasgow on Wednesday before making one of European football's longest journey's the following week.
It comes after Kairat won a nerve-shredding penalty shoot out against Slovan Bratislava to book their play-off spot.
Scottish sides have never won in seven attempts on Kazakh soil - including the Hoops losing 4-3 to Astana eight years ago. But Rooney says there will be no excuses for Celtic should they fail to get what they want over two legs.
He told MailSport: 'You get used to flying across Europe in big games but that one was something else. It was a good old journey, alright!
‌
'To be fair, we were okay with Aberdeen because for the European trips a lot of the sponsors used to fund the flights. We used to sell a lot on the corporate side.
'Some of the sponsors would then travel on the plane with the team. So we used to get some fairly nice planes, to be honest with you.
'I'm pretty sure we had the Rolling Stones ' old private jet for that trip. The company that used to organise the trips had some big names. They said the one we had for that journey was one of the Stones' old jets.
‌
'I'm not really a fan, they're a bit before my time! But when I heard that it still made me think 'wow'.
'You could tell it would suit that kind of company because it was top quality. Nice and spacious with those big lounger seats that face each other like on a corporate bus.
'The planes weren't always like that! We had some good chartered flights but that was a particularly nice one.
‌
'Of course, I'm sure Celtic would rather be going to Bratislava, just logistically it's an awful lot closer.
'More so for the fans because you can't expect many of them to travel over to Kazakhstan.
'But the players, especially some of the lads in the Celtic team, might be involved in international set-ups and stuff that so they're used to travelling further abroad anyway.
‌
'The journey obviously takes a bit out of your legs and stuff, but I think it's more of a mental thing.
'If you can get a good sleep, which if you're on decent planes and the hotels are alright, I think you're fine.
'It's not like you're sitting crammed on a Ryanair flight for eight or nine hours!'
‌
Aberdeen fell 2-0 behind early on in the 24,000 Almaty Ortalyk Stadium before Kenny McLean pulled one back in the second half to give Derek McInnes' side hope.
Rooney, now player/assistant manager of Hereford alongside former Celtic midfielder Paul Caddis, was a half time sub and remembers the mid-summer heat in Kazakhstan being uncomfortable but nothing that should make a huge difference.
‌
Celtic's second leg is due to kick off at 5.45pm UK time - 9.45pm in Kazakhstan - which could pose further logistical issues for the Hoops.
But Rooney said: 'Because of the time difference, we tried to stay on British time.
'We worked our meals and stuff like that as if we were still on a UK time and just adapted kick-off time to that.
‌
'The heat wasn't too bad. Listen, Scotland is a sweatbox for me, I'm ginger and white!
'Celtic will be prepared, I'm sure. Going abroad it's hard to actually work out the levels.
'Sometimes you can get led into a false sense of security and think, 'oh, these actually don't look that great'. And you turn up and they're very sharp and they're technically very good.
‌
'So it is difficult to try and get a feel for when you're playing the different countries and different levels to actually get a feel for what kind of standard they are.
'I'm sure the lads at Celtic are a lot more adapted to it when playing in the Champions League qualifiers.
'They'll just want to look after themselves and make sure they play to their capabilities.'
‌
Rooney's fellow Irish striker Adam Idah has come under pressure from Hoops fans whose frustrations have been multiplied due to Parkhead chiefs failure to replace Kyogo.
But Rooney said: 'I've thought Idah has looked okay, he's a real handful and he's an international striker.
‌
'Listen Celtic are going to dominate the ball domestically and there's a different level of expectation due to the quality of strikers they've had over the years.
'That demand is there to have the X factor. Kyogo had that I suppose.
'We all have barren spells but the difference at Celtic is you are going to get three or four chances a game.
'If you're not taking them that's when the confidence might go.
'But I'm sure Adam is more than capable of scoring 20 goals again this season. He just needs to keep believing because he clearly has the talent.
'I saw a bit of Johnny Kenny playing in Ireland last season. He is quick and direct and the manager at Shamrock Rovers spoke really highly of him. But he'd need a bit of time if he was to be Celtic's number one striker.'