JAN VENNEGOOR of HESSELINK once played in the semi-final of the Champions League for PSV Eindhoven. A year previously Porto had won the whole thing, beating Monaco in the final.

That was just a decade ago but already feels like much, much longer. The Dutchman sees the gap growing between the big countries and the rest and thinks we might never see those days again.

The chances of a team from Holland, Portugal or even Scotland ever reaching the latter stages of the Champions League or one day winning it seem already to be long gone. He doesn’t have to even finish his sentence as he analyses the situation.

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“You always have a goal to reach the second round of the Champions League or to progress in the Europa League,” he says. “But to win the Champions League or something like that….”

On a rare visit back to Scotland, the former Celtic striker senses the gloom around his former club following their 7-0 thrashing by Barcelona in midweek. He knows and understands the anguish and embarrassment felt, as well as the discussions about just how Scottish football can ever hope to compete in Europe again. The 37 year-old, though, thinks there has to be a dose of realism, too. Having hung up his boots four years ago, the former Hull player is back working for PSV so knows how hard it is to be a relatively big club in a comparatively small market.

He thinks clubs like Celtic and PSV should continue trying to punch above their weight but also have to accept where they are in the pecking order. And if they can, try to enjoy it, too.

Read more: Vennegoor: Celtic will take their Barca frustration out on Caley Thistle

“It can always happen that a club like Celtic can reach the last 16,” he added. “I know how it works because I am with PSV Eindhoven now and last season we qualified from our group and only went out to Atletico Madrid after a penalty shoot-out. So if you have a good base and you get a good draw then you have a chance. In Celtic’s case, they have Barcelona and Manchester City. Borussia Moenchengladbach are a very fit Bundesliga side but City pumped them 4-0.

“I saw the group and thought: “just enjoy it”. Celtic needs to enjoy those type of Champions League games, Scotland needs to enjoy those kind of Champions League games. Hopefully they have a little bit of luck or Barcelona and Manchester City have already qualified when they play and then they have to fight for third place with Moenchengladbach. That’s the thing now, that’s the reality.

“We know that the big leagues, the big money - it’s only going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. But if you have a good strategy, a good base for working and developing players and get a squad together that can compete with the likes of Atletico Madrid or the likes of Basel.

“I’m not talking about the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich because they are miles ahead. You need to think about getting close to Benfica and that type of club. If you have that, you still have power to compete.”

Vennegoor of Hesselink also thinks that, as hard as it was to accept, Celtic need to try to brush off the thrashing from Barcelona, pointing out that the Catalans have the firepower to do that to just about anyone.

He added: “I really don’t think it will be hard for the players to get over this because they were up against Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. The other problem Celtic had was that Barcelona had lost at the weekend and they needed to fix that. Celtic, on the other hand, were on a high and maybe there was a loss of focus, I don’t know. Then Barcelona scored early and Celtic missed that penalty.

“If it had gone to 1-1 then maybe they might have hit the crossbar a couple of times but that didn’t happen, of course. Everything fell into place for them. But Barcelona do that to teams every now and again. Last season they beat Valencia 7-0 and Deportivo La Coruna 8-0.

“The reason I think it won’t be too hard for Celtic’s players is that they were playing one of the best teams in the world, who had a perfect night – if they were to lose 5-0 away to Borussia Moenchengladbach - that would be a different story. Of course, 7-0 will hurt but you just hold your hand up and say sorry. No excuses.

“Scott Brown said afterwards that the result was unacceptable but he had to say that. If he came out and said, “That can happen” then people would question his attitude. So I understand why he said that. This would have been a much bigger problem if the game against Rangers last Saturday had been tighter. But the 5-1 win has given them a little bit of credit.”

- Jan was speaking at a William Hill media event to promote the draw for tomorrow’s William Hill Ayr Gold Cup.