HE was the toothless talisman who struck terror into defenders during his pomp.

Combative, fearless and instinctive, Joe Jordan possessed all the qualities of the good old-fashioned Scottish striker.

Celtic will need those kind of attributes when AC Milan come to Glasgow for Tuesday's crucial Champions league encounter, but Jordan is confident Neil Lennon's men can take a bite out of the Serie A giants and pull off a major Italian Job.

The celebrated Scot had two seasons at the San Siro in the early 1980s and still cherishes the time he spent with the Rossoneri.

But the 61-year-old would be delighted to see his old club come a cropper in the east end.

Next week's Group H crunch match is the proverbial six-pointer and a victory for the hosts would see them leapfrog Milan and keep their slim hopes of qualifying alive ahead of a daunting trip to the Nou Camp for the final match of the group campaign against Barcelona.

Jordan said: "I do think they can get something in their next game at Celtic Park, they've done it before.

"It would be fantastic for Scottish football in general were Celtic to qualify. You saw that last year when they got a result against Barcelona and went on to finish the job. What a lift that gave the game.

"It would increase the stock of Neil Lennon again and the same goes for the players. Once you get performances, then everything looks after itself.

"A footballer doesn't need to do anything other than produce the goods.

"You don't need talk from spin doctors and all that rubbish. Just go and play and get results."

Milan, the seven-times European champions, are in the midst of something of a transitional year and currently languish in mid- table of Italy's top tier.

They are not in quite as perilous a position as Jordan found them in almost 30 years ago, though.

At the end of his first term in the style capital of Italy, Milan had gone out of fashion and were relegated before bouncing back at the first attempt the following year.

A defeat at Celtic Park on Tuesday may just get the current natives of the San Siro restless.

He added: "When it's not going well as a Milan player? Well, you've not experienced anything like it.

"Seriously, I had an education there. It was arguably the best move of my career, an unbelievable experience. If you talk about pressure, I felt I handled it but I certainly sensed it at that club more than anywhere else.

"I think that was because I was the only foreigner there at that time. You had an incredible responsibility when you woke up in the morning and were a Milan player.

"When you went to bed - that was after they let you go - you felt it. Two days a week you left at eight in the morning and got back at eight at night.

"The fans stuck by me; they were brilliant with me. It's just the name, the history, all that's gone before, the tradition of the club.

"You, as a football player in an Italian city, whether it's Rome, Turin, Florence or Milan, you have a responsibility that doesn't end when you come off that pitch.

"They idolise you, they respect you and put you on a certain platform and position in society. In return, you have got to represent that club to your highest levels.

"I still think things would need to get a wee bit more difficult than they are now before they (the AC Milan players) wouldn't want to be seen about town."

Celtic could get them feeling increasingly uneasy on Tuesday night, though.