Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder reckons that Celtic's dominant derby over Rangers will not be a factor in their Champions League group stage opener in Amsterdam.
Gio van Bronckhorst will look to pick up his players after their trouncing at the hands of their city rivals, with the 4-0 win at Celtic Park seeing Ange Postecoglou's men five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. The Ibrox stars will have to put domestic matters to the back of their mind as they travel to the Netherlands with a tough test in store against the Dutch champions.
And Schreuder has played down any prospect of a derby day hangover for Rangers as the Ajax prepare to kick-off their Champions League campaign. He believes his side will learn more lessons from Rangers' play-off success over PSV Eindhoven as insists his side must be ready to face a formidable foe in their group stage opener.
Speaking ahead of the game, he said: “No I don’t think the Celtic defeat will have an impact. I think Rangers are a very experienced team and I don’t think that game was a good understanding of them.
“They were playing a top game while we played against Cambuur, which with respect is completely different. So for us I look to the PSV game and that is more important tomorrow. I know it will be a big challenge.
“Rangers played with a lot of courage in Eindhoven. They were taking their moments and they controlled the game at times at the home of PSV which is very impressive.”
Schreuder also praised the work of his fellow countryman Van Bronckhorst. He added: “For Dutch coaches it’s always nice to see a colleague doing well and we know him (GvB) personally. It was a great run last year beating teams like Dortmund and Leipizg and they did a great job in the final.”
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