It is the fizzy wine of the Europa League rather than the champagne of the Champions League which Celtic will sip from this season.

But, having emerged from the draw in Monaco yesterday afternoon in the company of teams who, like themselves, may well feel they ought to be at the top table with Europe’s elite, there is still a chance for Celtic to raise a glass this season to a decent European campaign.

It is not where they wanted to be. But in Ajax, Fenerbahce and Molde, Celtic have the opportunity to salvage some credibility this term as they seek to justify their manager’s belief that they have in fact progressed as a team over the last 14 months.

In that respect, the Malmo post-mortem cannot afford to be a protracted one.

Ronny Deila called his squad together on Thursday morning for a frank exchange of views as to why the team appeared so paralysed in Malmo this week but having picked the bones of the costly defeat, the Norwegian knows there is little time for self-indulgence.

The deficiencies evident in Deila’s team in Sweden were laid bare in a painful second leg. Yet, with a forthcoming Europa League campaign that is far more appetising than it could have been, Celtic need to recover their composure quickly rather than allowing the psychological effects of Tuesday night’s defeat to linger.

The painful rawness of the defeat to Malmo will not be assuaged by the Europa League but it does present an opportunity for the club to redeem themselves. Certainly, the games against Fenerbahce and Ajax will encourage the Hoops support to emerge in numbers and Deila was keen to talk up Celtic’s chances of getting through the group stage - and back up his theory that his team have progressed.

“We have a good opportunity to go through but there are some tough teams in there,” he said. “We will need to perform well.

“All three are going to be good but Ajax and Fenerbahce are bigger clubs and they have big supports, so there will be three big clubs in the group.

“Robin Van Persie has gone to Fenerbahce but I don’t know that much about them. They have spent a lot of money but all Turkish clubs are doing that – although they don’t all get paid.

“Ajax also had high hopes to get into the Champions League. They are in the same situation as us.

“It is not going to lessen the pain. We are disappointed we didn’t go through because that was one of our big goals but that is how it is.

“We have to go on and now we have some exciting games in the Europa League and we also have big games domestically that can make the season good.”

While Europe’s second tier competition will always feel like a consolation prize, it is an opportunity for Celtic to chart some kind of progress this season.

And Deila has admitted that while the Parkhead club carry the stature of a Champions League club, they have to acknowledge that they are a Europa League team.

The Norwegian, though, is insistent that Celtic can make the jump to being a Champions League team with the squad they have.

“Celtic is a Champions League club,” said Deila. “If you see the size of the club, if you look at the history – it is a Champions League club. But right now we have a Europa League team. That is how it is.

“We know if we play at our best we can go into the Champions League and be at the group stages. We were very close but we were not good enough in the last match. In small details, we were not good enough.”

Financially, Celtic will never be in a position to spend the major sums on bringing in two or three players who can make the difference at Champions League level since realistically they cannot compete with the finances of the major leagues.

It is a conundrum that has irked previous Celtic managers who have grown frustrated at just how far they can take the team but Deila has no criticism of the budget he has to work with.

“You can see at Ajax too,” he said. “They are in the same position too. They have to build talent and when they have good years they will get into the Champions League but some years they have young players and they need to develop and they don’t get in.

“We bring in players who are prospects, who can be good. We are not bringing in players who have had a great career and who are coming here with that knowledge – we have to develop that. The only way to develop that is through culture.

“Teach them how we want to play and things we do on the pitch and it is about experiences. So many players have had very good progress in the last year. We have a young team that is developing all the time and we had a very good run of results right up until this game. In the end we didn’t finish it and that is very disappointing but then these young players get more experience and we will learn from it.

“If you look at the economy side of the club it is not among the best in Europe, that is how it is. But we have the economy and be in the Champions League and be in the group stages.

“We have more money than Malmo so we getting into the group stages is something we should do. Not every year, but often, in my opinion.

“To win the Champions League that is a big, big step because we are not in that league – the history and the size of the club make us one of the biggest – but if you look at the economy we are not even close to the Manchester United and Barcelona and those types of club.”