HE might not have sampled the unique atmosphere of a big European night at Parkhead before, but Celtic right back Moritz Bauer is no stranger to such occasions.

The Stoke City loanee played in the qualifying rounds of both the Champions League and Europa League during his time at Grasshopper Zurich in his native Switzerland.

He also attended the epic encounters between Liverpool and Barcelona and Ajax and Spurs in the semi-finals of the Champions League last season in person as well as the final between the English rivals in Madrid.

The Austrian internationalist is friends with Xherdan Shaqiri from their time at Stoke and was at Anfield in May as Jurgen Klopp’s side came from 3-0 down to win 4-0 on the night and triumph 4-3 on aggregate.

Bauer also knows Dusan Tadic well and looked on in disbelief as the Serbian and his team mates were beaten on away goals by Lucas Moura strike in the sixth minute of injury-time in the Amsterdam ArenA the following night.

He will, then, know exactly what to expect if he gets the nod to face Cluj, the Romanian club who knocked their Scottish rivals out of the Champions League on their last visit to Glasgow back in August, in the Group E fixture in the East End on Thursday evening.

Those Liverpool and Spurs matches, which are now widely considered to be among the greatest European matches of all-time, have certainly whetted his appetite for what lies ahead.

“Last season, because I had such a good contact with Xherdan Shaqiri, I was often at Anfield to watch Champions League nights,” he said. “I was at the Barcelona match and it was great. They were quite down after the first game, but they did it.

“I was really blessed because I’m also friends with Dusan Tadic from Ajax so I watched both semi-finals and the final. It was like all my Christmases and birthdays came at once. I got tickets for all the games because I had friends in all these teams so it was really interesting. And it gives you a taste for it.

“I played in the play-off round for the Europa League and Champions League for Grasshopper Zurich - we played Lyon, Fiorentina, Lille and Club Brugge. It would have been great to qualify for the group stage and we were close. I could smell the atmosphere of European nights.

“I signed a couple of hours before we qualified for Europe so it wasn’t the main factor, but I was buzzing obviously because we all want to play in these big games. To play in Europe is a great thing and I can’t wait to experience a European night at Parkhead.”

Neil Lennon’s men performed well in their opening Europa League group match against Rennes in France a fortnight ago and were unfortunate only to draw 1-1 and pick up a point.

Bauer, who was an unused substitute in Stade de la Route-de-Lorient, is confident the Glasgow club are good enough to both avenge their painful and costly loss to Cluj and challenge strongly for a place in the knockout rounds of the competition.

However, the 27-year-old, who was unable to prevent the Parkhead club from drawing 1-1 with Hibernian at Easter Road on Saturday and dropping their first points of the 2019/20 campaign, stressed that European success can’t be allowed to impact on their bid to win a ninth consecutive Scottish title and a fourth straight treble.

“We have the squad to do well in Europe we have more variety in the squad with the players we have added,” he said. “There is a lot of balance which helps because we have six games in three weeks so we will use all the squad.

“But we also want to be successful domestically. We have to be focused on all competitions and keep our good run going. There is no point losing in the league and winning in Europe.”

Bauer has started just two matches – against Kilmarnock at home and Hibs away in the past fortnight – since agreeing to join Celtic from Stoke for the season just before the transfer window closed at the start of last month.

Hatem Elhamed, the Israeli who was signed in a £1.5 million transfer from Hapoel Be’er Sheva this summer, has been a revelation since arriving in this country and has made the right back berth his own.

However, his club mate, who he shared a hotel with when he first arrived in Glasgow, welcomes the competition for places. He feels he has different strengths to Elhamed and is confident that, with Celtic involved in four competitions, they will both get game time in the months ahead.

“Hatem has done a terrific job,” he said. ”He arrived with a slight injury, but played a fantastic game in the derby. He. We’re different characters and maybe I can add more attacking football while he’s a great defender.

“We have a lot of games in the next three weeks and will need every player. It will be different tactics for every game and it’s up to the gaffer how he wants to play with the full backs. That was probably the thinking of the board and the manager when they signed me.”

Bauer continued: “I’m very happy to be here and the competition should be good because you won’t let your standard drop even five per cent - you will always keep your highest standard.

“I can learn from Hatem. He’s an international so we’ll make each other better. I try to adapt and I enjoy being part of a good group and I’m lucky to speak different languages.”

He admits, however, to struggling somewhat with the local dialect since moving to Glasgow. “I can understand the jokes, but the Scottish accent is one I have to get the hang of,” he said. “Scott Brown is a very funny guy and an iconic figure in this club.

“I look forward to learning from him and growing as a player and a human. To be such a leader you need good man management skills.”