VIRGIL VAN DIJK fears a massive disappointment is waiting for him - despite being a hot tip to become Player of the Year and finish his debut season with a league and cup double.

The Celtic central defender has been a stand-out for the club he joined from FC Groningen in June, and is now worth much more than the £2.6million the Hoops paid for him.

But, for all the rave reviews Van Dijk has received for his displays, Dutch national team boss Louis van Gaal has not joined his appreciation society.

And, with Holland heading to the World Cup finals in Brazil, the 22-year-old is coming to the conclusion he will not be invited to join the Oranje party.

Having been ignored for the final qualifiers and friendlies played after Holland booked their spot in the finals, and Celtic's participation in the high-profile Champions League games at an end, Van Dijk fears his chance has gone.

Asked if he would like to be going to Brazil, he responded: "I think that's what every player hopes for. It's what I hope as well, but I have never been invited (to the squad) so I think the chances are not so big for me.

"They saw the Champions League games, of course, but didn't give me an invite for the last games, the friendlies against Colombia and Japan.

"That's unfortunate for me, but I have to move on, still play good games, and maybe, you never know, the chance will come."

Van Dijk is determined not to allow his performance level to drop, even if the dream of a ticket to Brazil is fading.

Today, he will hope he can at least get to Turkey with the rest of the Celtic squad, which was left grounded in Glasgow yesterday.

The aircraft scheduled to carry them to the Antalya Cup - where they could face Ajax this weekend - suffered a technical fault while en route from Belgium.

The airline offered to reschedule the flight for 10pm, but Celtic did not want their men to travel overnight and arrive at their hotel in Belek mid-morning today.

Lennon has made it clear he is not attaching too much importance to the matches, but the fringe men desperate to make their mark could see it differently.

Teemu Pukki will hope to get back on the goal standard, and his boss at national team level, Mixu Paatelainen, is convinced the Finnish star will come good in the Hoops.

The ex-Hibs boss said: "He's scored goals for Finland against top nations in the world, like Spain, and he can score goals for Celtic. There is no question about that."