If the hell of the Twin Towers had not happened, Rosenborg would occupy their own little niche in Celtic’s history.

The Parkhead side were set up to play their first ever UEFA Champions League game against the Norwegians on Wednesday, 12 September 2001, a game that was called off on the afternoon of the day it was to be played after the disaster that unfolded in New York across the Atlantic.

Still, Rosenborg are no strangers to Celtic. They would get together belatedly in that campaign – Celtic beating them in Glasgow, Rosenborg returning the favour in a freezing Trondheim – with Harold Brattbakk coming back to haunt Celtic.

As they renew acquaintances this week, both sides have changed somewhat in the intervening years. Football’s economic factors have diluted the stature that Rosenborg once held within European circles, while Celtic are working their way to restoring their own reputation in such company.

Paul Lambert was part of Martin O’Neill’s side who took Celtic into the group stages of Europe’s premier competition for the first time. While he is insistent that the games ought to be surplus to teams who win their titles, he nevertheless believes that Celtic need to get themselves regularly into the group stages.

“It is the yardstick with which you will always be measured,” he said. “Let’s be honest, Celtic are as big a name in European football as Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus. If they had the same financial resources from their league as these clubs do then they would hold the same appeal for the world’s best players.

“We know that the finances affect what they can do in terms of the players they bring in but there is still a demand, a need for the club to be in at that level. Anyone who has ever played for Celtic will tell you the same – it doesn’t matter who you are playing, what competition you are in, you are expected to win the game.

“There is some realism now but if Celtic are playing at Celtic Park, this is a support who want their team to have a right good go at it. In many ways, it is why it is such an amazing atmosphere to play in on those nights because European football is where Celtic fans want to see the team.

“In the nicest sense, there is no respect for whoever comes and what their reputation is. Celtic fans will believe in anything and I think for some of Europe’s top teams, they just aren’t used to that when they travel in the competition.

“For everyone associated with the club I hope they get back in there. The fans deserve to see those teams at Celtic Park and the players will relish the chance to go up against them. It is the best learning curve you can get.”

And while Roseborg might not be the force they once were, they will be a significant ask for Celtic to see them off over the course of two legs.

The first game will be held at Celtic Park on Wednesday evening with the home leg critical to the tie.

“I remember playing in Trondheim on an icy, cold night,” recalled Lambert. “It was bitter, with sleet coming in at us and the pitch was slippy. But they were a really excellent team.

“They beat us well that night and I always remembered the tightness of the ground and how strong they were on it. They might not have the same big players that they did but what sticks in my mind was how fit they were.

“If memory serves me correctly, they were one of the first clubs in Europe to bring in their own sports scientists, to start with the ice baths and so on and my abiding memory of playing against them was just how physically fit they were.

“So while they might not have the same players, that’s a philosophy that doesn’t leave a club. That mantra will still be there and given that they are 17 games into the domestic season, they will be ahead of Celtic on that front which adds another dimension to it.”

The finances available to Celtic through participation in the group stages of the tournament lends itself to strengthening on the park, but for Lambert the competition is about more than just the economic benefits.

“There is a prestige to playing in the Champions League,” he said. “You can’t really appreciate just what the standard is like until you have played it. I consider myself really privileged to have played in it, to have won it with Borussia, and it is a breath-taking tournament to be part of.

“People never forget those games. I remember being absolutely scunnered when we finished the group in our first season being in it at Celtic with 9 points and didn’t go through – I still think we are one of the few teams to have been so unlucky with that tally of points not to progress.

“But it really is a tournament where you can make a name for yourself.”