Celtic assistant boss John Collins is determined to see his side make a strong start to their Europa League campaign against Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena on Thursday.
Having failed to reach the group stages of the Champions League, the Scottish title holders are looking to once again go far in the Europa League.
Celtic will be without versatile Scotland defender Charlie Mulgrew for the trip to Amsterdam, as he has suffered a thigh injury.
However, left-back Emilio Izaguirre is fit once again after missing Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of title challengers Aberdeen.
Collins is fully aware of the challenge ahead against Ajax and knows his side will have to put their disappointing defeat to the Dons behind them as they prepare to start their Europa League campaign.
Collins said: “It’s always important to start well. It’ll be a tough challenge. Ajax are a good, young team.
“I watched their two Champions League qualifiers and they played well.
They were very unlucky not to qualify. They are a quality team, a great club with great history so it’ll be a wonderful challenge for us.
“It’s another game and another tournament that we want to do well in.
We did fairly well in it last season and we want to do exactly the same again this year.”
Celtic, who also have Fenerbache and Molde in their group, are priced at 4.50 to come away from Amsterdam with the win, 3.50 to earn a point and 1.85 to suffer defeat to the Dutch giants.
Leave a comment
Link Dafabet