Jota insists Celtic 'personality' will grow after Real Madrid as he swerves Rangers chatter

The results might have been similarly sore but the contrast in reactions at the end could not have been more different. Gio van Bronckhorst confessed it would take hundreds of millions for Rangers to compete in the Champions League.

Ange Postecoglou made no mention of money, only his burning desire to prove his Celtic side can provide a bang for their buck among Europe’s elite. The difference didn’t go unnoticed by fans of both clubs. Van Bronckhorst – already copping flak for the Old Firm demolition – was understandably searching for excuses after Ajax gave his men the runaround.

Postecoglou could have been forgiven for patting his team on the back for giving Real Madrid a run for their money. Instead, the Aussie seemed almost downbeat his Celts couldn’t find a way to maintain the sensational start and actually defeat the European champions. There’s no guarantee Celtic’s stance will be successful in this campaign but there’s no doubt they won’t change for any one.

The manager has imprinted a no excuses mantra in the club’s DNA and star men such as Jota are all in. The message from the boss at the end in a despondent dressing room the other night was simple.

“Stick to our principles, keep working hard,” Jota explained. “We have plenty of games to go and that is what we are going to do. I don’t want to stop here, I just want to keep improving.

“We don’t compare ourselves with the other teams. We compare ourselves with each other and just think about each other, that’s the most important thing. We just need to focus on ourselves, see what mistakes we did and go strong in the next one.

“This is a Celtic team, we always want to win of course, but we know that in the Champions League there are very difficult games.