ON the four previous occasions when Celtic and Ajax have met in European competition it has always been for the cup with the big ears.

The names were great as were the games. Iconic moments of genius, delight and despair. It is why we watch football.

The first time these two played one another was during the Jock Stein era, most of theLions were still about in 1971, but some bloke called Johan Cruyff did the damage for Ajax.

Then in 1982, Charlie Nicholas scored the best goal of his Celtic career and George McCluskey's left foot grabbed the winner in Amsterdam against an Ajax side which had an ageing Cruyff in its ranks.

Going back to 2001, when Celtic won 3-1away to all-but secure a play-off win and reach he Champions League group stages for the first time, the starting eleven was full of the stars of the day. To give that match day squad some perspective, John Hartson only got the last seven minutes and Lubo Moravcik stayed on the bench.

Two years ago in November, Celtic made the trip they will this morning but with Fraser Forster, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Ledley and European mascot Georgios Samaras in the ranks. They lost 1-0 on a night when they were played off the park.

Celtic are not as strong in 2015. Neither are Ajax according to any Dutch journalist you care to talk to, although one or two have suggested this team under Frank de Boer are better than some of their results would suggest. We shall see.

Ajax were crowned European champions just 20 years ago when a manager called Louis van Gaal knew what he was doing. How times change and not for the better.

However, in saying all that, this is a match we should look forward to. It's Celtic playing Ajax. What's not to like? It remains glamorous, even if the leading figures are not quite the star billing of the past.

Few would argue against that the Europa League is where these two currently belong. Ajax still produce talent like nobody's business, the club's resolute determination to work with youth remains admirable, they continue to play their own style of passing and possession football and occasionally poach a future superstar, Luis Suarez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were two such successful plunders.

As for Celtic, they have their own plan and are sticking to it. Buy low, sell high. It's just that they too have dropped a level on the pitch. It makes this match hard to call, although the home side will clearly be favourites come Thursday evening in the Amsterdam Arena.

Ronny Deila has some good players at his disposal but not Larsson and McStay good. The problem for Celtic's manager is one thing that has not changed over the years is the expectation and pressure to win such fixtures, which has increased given the team's rather uncertain start to the season.

If on Thursday night Celtic land back in Glasgow having been given a going over, the fear is this Europa League campaign is going to be be short but feel long.

However, let's be positive. If Deila can sort out his defence, no mean feat, Kris Commons comes back into the team and one or two other find some form, Stefan Johansen and Scott Brown in particular, then this is a million miles from mission impossible.

Indeed, beating Ajax on their home patch just might be a turning point and Celtic could really kick-on from then in Europe and the domestic front, although it always has to be said that no matter who they are playing, it would take a brave man to bet them winning the league with something to spare, with all due respect to Derek McInnes and Aberdeen.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, the former Celtic striker now working in the Dutch media, can't call it. He does not believe Ajax are all that and while Celtic are hardly ripping up trees, they should not fear their trip to the land of tulips.

"Ajax are cruising in the league, they have scored a lot of goals and haven’t conceded many, but they struggled in the qualifiers against Jablonec," said the man who won two league titles during his time at Parkhead. "They won 1-0 at home but they had a lot of critics.

"Frank de Boer likes to play the Ajax way, with lots of passing and good football, but Jablonec had 10 men behind the ball and they never created anything. Leading 1-0 was a good enough result but they really struggled over there."

It saddens Vennegoor of Hesselink, who scored against Barcelona for Celtic in a last 16 Champions League game, that seven years on from that night his old team are stuck in European football's second tier.

“Playing in the Europa League is the reality for Ajax and Celtic right now, " he said with a frown. “But these are two teams who want to be in the Champions League. Hopefully they can push on and get back there. With Fenerbahce in there, this is a fun group though and there should be some good games.

“It’s really close between a lot of these sides who are trying to push on to reach the Champions League. It’s hard for them when they don’t get there."

Deila could do with a point from this game, or at the very least an encouraging performance if they lose. Vennegoor of Hesselink kindly offered up some advice.

He said: "Celtic need to grab Ajax by the throat and dominate them in Holland. I was sitting in a bar with my old Celtic teammates last week talking about it. Look at some of the games we played. We weren’t always the best players on the pitch. But sometimes you need to get your head down and just get the result."

It's sound advice.