CELTIC'S whole Europa League campaign could be summed up in the turnaround in fortunes of their big Swedish defender, Daniel Majstorovic.

Back in August the veteran was the player sent off in the opening minutes of the horrendous night in Sion when Celtic crashed out of Europe in the qualifying round.

After the reprieve of the Swiss club's expulsion they returned for a group campaign which ended in elimination again last night, but in Udine it was a totally different Majstorovic in particular and Celtic team in general.

Fraser Forster may have been the star of the show with a string of outstanding saves during a pulsating match but Majstorovic also played well in central defence.

Compared to the messy 3-1 defeat in Sion, the 1-1 draw with Serie A joint leaders Udinese in Italy was night and day. Celtic didn't do enough to reach the last 32 but their six-game campaign saw them play with growing confidence and post some decent results.

They lost to Atletico Madrid and drew with Udinese before back-to-back ties with Rennes produced a draw and then a win.

Those results against the French club were major shots in the arm before the group ended with a narrow home defeat to Atletico and then the draw in Italy.

Having been outsiders when the draw was made, which put them in one of the toughest sections of all, they kept their qualification hopes alive to the final seconds of the campaign.

"We are more confident now than we were at start of the group," said Majstorovic about what Europe had done for their morale.

"We can be really proud of that performance. When the draw was made some people wrote us off and talked about us not picking up any points. It was a Champions League group, really. We just have to be proud of what we've done.

"Of course we're not happy that we didn't make it through but there are other factors to think about, like how well we played and the fact we're working so well as a team.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game, Udinese are top of the league in Italy, but we performed really, really well. We're happy. I think we deserved more than the end result.

"We were unlucky when we played against them at home and conceded a late penalty for their equaliser. These small things make a difference in continental football but we've shown again that we're a really, really good side."

He went on: "We're on very good form at the moment. Now we need to take this form into the SPL.

"The Old Firm game is the next really big one but all the games we have in December are important.

"St Johnstone will be a totally different game but we need to switch on now and move forward.

"We still have three trophies to go for so it's brilliant."

Forster was congratulated by his team-mates after the game for saving them from defeat with a string of outstanding saves. Udinese star man Antonio Di Natale might have had three or four goals were it not for Forster's stops behind centre-backs Majstorovic and Victor Wanyama.

"Fraser is really, really good," said Majstorovic. "He made some fantastic saves in the second half.

"Of course we needed to push on and get a goal and that meant Udinese would have chances. So we needed a great goalkeeping performance and we got that."

He added: "Our defence was criticised earlier this season but we've come to Italy and only conceded one against the team at the top of Serie A.

"That is a good achievement. The defence has been playing well, not only in this match but in the last six or seven games.

"We defend as a team, we attack as a team, we work as a team. We just need to keep going in the league now."

Majstorovic will be joined at Celtic by his Swedish international team-mate Mikael Lustig on January 1, and will also have his own contract talks with manager Neil Lennon next month.

But he said it was for others to decide how much transfer activity was needed on the side as it attempts to stop Rangers winning a fourth consecutive SPL title this season.

"That's not up to me. The players just need to focus on what we do on the pitch and the people who take care of business will do their jobs."

The Swede is 34 but insisted he had plenty more to give. "I still feel I have a lot to offer. For me age is just a number. It's about what you still want to achieve and I still feel fresh and hungry," he said.

"At the moment I'm focusing on the each game as it comes, that's what we all have to do. But I am very happy here and I am very proud of Celtic and of playing for them. I am looking forward and of course we will have discussions about a new contract."