FORMER Celtic star Pierre van Hooijdonk has told Celtic to flex their muscles when they take on Ajax tomorrow night.
Both clubs urgently require a win if they hope to advance when they lock horns in Glasgow in the crucial Europa League tie.
Van Hooijdonk, who played for the Hoops from 1995 to 97, contends that Dutch boss Frank de Boer can call upon better technical players than Ronny Deila.
However, he also believes a physical display from the SPFL champions could swing the game in their favour.
He said: “The only worry that I’ve got for Celtic is because of the home support they will push the team and Ajax are very good at keeping the ball. They have a great possession game and that can frustrate the fans.
“If a team at Celtic Park is having the ball in their own half or at the back for quite a bit then the fans lose their patience, they start to scream, they shout: ‘Get forward’ and the danger is you start running like a headless chicken because of the push you feel from the crowd.
“And Ajax are capable of playing through the lines and they can finish you off. That is a danger.
“On the other hand, the physical presence of Celtic should be important. Feyenoord played Ajax last month and, while Ajax have the better players and played Feyenoord off the park in the first-half, Feyenoord started to win more of the battles after the interval and the game completely changed.
“They don’t like the physical part of the game.
“Feyenoord beat them in that game and Celtic should try to hurt them where they can and that is by making the game physical.”
Van Hooijdonk of course features extensively in CQN’s new book THE WINDS OF CHANGE which covers the period 1991-2005. You can order
HERE or click on the image below. It’s CQN’s best book yet!
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