John Collins, the Celtic assistant manager, has admitted to some regret after publicly revealing his opinion last month that Scottish players were not “clever enough” or “quick enough thinkers” to punish Celtic the way that European teams can.

While Collins did not offer a retraction, he did acknowledge that his words could have been laced with some diplomacy which may not have led to the same levels of outrage from assorted SPFL players and managers.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInness claimed at the time that Collins had “a lot to say for an assistant manager” and subsequent league draws with Kilmarnock and a defeat last weekend to Aberdeen have given Collins’ critics ample ammunition with which to mock his remarks.

“Maybe I could’ve chosen my words better,” said Collins.“Maybe it was also about interpretation of the words. Nothing surprises. I’ve been in the game long enough, nothing surprises me. Everybody has an opinion. Not everyone’s the same, everybody’s got a different opinion.

“We’re always going to drop points. That’s reality, that’s football.“You don’t take your chances, the other team takes theirs. You lose points. It’s something we try to guard against but that’s football. It’s unpredictable.”

Despite the fallout that was played out in the media afterwards, Collins has played down any suggestions of a subsequent rift between himself and McInnes. There is no love lost between the two backroom teams due to various spats over the last year but Collins was quick to reveal an amiable conversation after last week’s 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen.

“ People can have their opinions, it’s not a problem,” said Collins. “I had a cup of tea with him [McInnes] last week in his office. It’s gone, it’s past, it’s history. I said what I said. Some people didn’t like it, but I said it. It’s time to move on.”

Aberdeen’s victory last week has been taken as evidence of a credible title race this term. The result also put Celtic under the microscope but Collins was quick to rebuff the pressure that he and Ronny Deila, the Parkhead manager, were under going into Thursday night’s game against Ajax in Amsterdam.

“I’ve been part of Celtic for a long time as a player and supporter and now a coach,” he said. “I know what happens when you lose a game. People talk. People try to blow it up. We have to be realistic and we’ve got to stay calm. It’s early in the season, we lost a game we didn’t want to lose. There’s a long way to go it’s a marathon not a sprint.

“They [Aberdeen] proved last year they are a good football team and they lasted the whole season, they kept going. They’ve added to their squad. Graeme Shinnie, a very good player. They’ve added a striker and another centre half. They’ve bolstered their squad. It’s going to be a challenge but it’s great having a challenge, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? That’s good for everybody.”