Klaassen and Blind spell out Ajax relief

The mood in the AFC Ajax camp was predictably upbeat after the Amsterdam side halted a run of disappointing results with a 1-0 victory over Celtic FC.

Ajax's Davy Klaassen said he played "without stress" after being selected ahead of Viktor Fischer while team-mate Daley Blind expressed satisfaction at a "very important victory for us" as they overtook their visitors to go third in UEFA Champions League Group H. Celtic's Kris Commons rued how his team "lacked belief and were tentative" and Efe Ambrose said manager Neil Lennon had been angry at half-time at the lacklustre performance.

Davy Klaassen, Ajax forward
I had an idea yesterday that I might start the match because of how things went at training. It gave me an enormous amount of confidence when I heard I had been selected for such an important game, it actually allowed me to play without stress.

We started the second half strongly and scored quickly, and maybe we should have put the game out of reach, but at the end it was all hands on deck as Celtic pressurised us, although I thought we coped well. Of course our next two matches against AC Milan and Barcelona will be difficult, but at least we are now third in the group.

Daley Blind, Ajax defender
I think the result was the right one, we showed we wanted to attack and we played a pretty good match. The manager told us in no uncertain terms at half-time that we had to build from the back better and improve in general. We gave very little away – they had a few attempts from distance but no real clear chances as far as I can remember.

This was a very important victory for us. Our results haven't been that great of late, although I felt it would always come good at some point so for me our recent form wasn't a major drama.

Kris Commons, Celtic forward
I felt pretty rusty in the first half because I've only had one training session [after coming back from injury]. It was difficult to get in to the game because Ajax pass the ball very well and play at a good tempo so I think their quality told in the final third in the end. We didn't really take the game to them, we lacked belief and were tentative in the first half. They scored when we were looking OK.

We knew this game would be very difficult, but whatever happened tonight we would always have been looking to beat Milan at home in the next game, so obviously we'll still try to do just that.

Efe Ambrose, Celtic defender
First half we couldn't keep the ball, but at half-time the manager was angry and told us to come out and play, which we know we can. So the second half was different, we had a couple of chances and we didn't take them. They didn't have many chances either but managed to take one. In the end they are a good team and probably deserved their win. In saying that, we still believe we can qualify.