Mulgrew: We Know What to Expect From Ajax

Celtic utility man Charlie Mulgrew has reassured the fans by telling the official club website that his side know what to expect from Europa League rivals Ajax.

The Hoops have been drawn against the Dutch side, Fenerbahce and Molde in what has been dubbed a ‘group of death’. Ajax, however, will be no strangers to the Scottish champions after being paired with them on four previous occasions.

And Mulgrew, who will be battling to earn a spot in Ronny Deila’s side for the upcoming European clashes, has claimed that the Eredivisie leaders won’t surprise the Hoops in their two ties.

We’ve played Ajax before and we know what to expect from them. They have a great youth system and they produce great players. They like to pass the ball and play the right way.

They are a top side with top players coming through. They’re renowned for playing good football, keeping it down and playing it the correct way from the back. They’re a good side and it will be a difficult game.

We’ll need to be ready for them. It’ll be difficult, but we’ve beaten them in the past but will need to be aware of their style.

Deila’s men find themselves in the Europa League after tumbling out of the Champions League to Swedish side Malmo, losing 4-3 on aggregate.

The result in Sweden, a 2-0 defeat, unleashed rage from sections of the Celtic support at the club’s failure to reach the lucrative group stages of Europe’s premier club competition.

But Mulgrew, who played in the disappointing Champions League play-off defeat, has claimed that he and his team-mates are “excited” at the prospect of mixing it with their Europa League opponents.

It’s a good draw, You want to play and compete against the best in competitive, difficult games and this is probably as difficult as it could get.

Some would argue it’s more like a Champions League group, but we’re delighted to be in Europe and we’re looking forward to the games.

One of Celtic’s opponents in Group A, Fenerbahce, have made blockbuster signings throughout the summer with the acquisitions of former Manchester United stars Robin Van Persie and Nani respectively.

And despite claiming he doesn’t know enough about Norwegian outfit Molde, he has recognised the threat posed by the Istanbul side.

I don’t know much about Molde but I’m sure the manager will and we’ll find out more about them closer to the time.

Fenerbahce have been in Europe for years now as well and they’re an established European side. They’ve just signed Robin Van Persie and Nani so they have a lot of money to spend. They’ve got big players in their team which will make it difficult.