CHRIS SUTTON

wage bill that is more than £10million smaller each year.

And their turnover was £20m less than Celtic’s last season. Talk about getting it right.

Ajax are a club that have their structure right from top to bottom and they are an example to all of the mid-ranking sides across the Continent that success is possible.

Red Bull Salzburg are the same. Everyone assumes they have loads of money but their wage bill is comparable with Celtic’s.

They spent decent money last summer but also brought in about £50m. The turnaround at Ajax has been even more remarkable in such a short space of time.

When they faced Celtic just over three years ago there didn’t seem an awful lot between the teams and if anything they both looked like spent forces in Europe.

Celtic were toiling under Ronny Deila at the time while Ajax were a pale shadow of their former selves.

There’s no doubt there has been some progress at Parkhead with a return to the Champions League group stage, even if there was regression this season.

But the transformation in Amsterdam has been incredible. Don’t get me wrong. They don’t go daft on wages but they have spent a lot of money on transfers, with the likes of Daley Blind arriving from Manchester Utd for £16m and Dusan Tadic coming in from Southampton for £10m.

They haven’t coughed up outrageous sums though. Instead they have been wise with their money and will get a return on their investments, with the likes of Frenkie de Jong heading to Barcelona for £75m at the end of the campaign.

But this is the model Celtic should be aspiring to replicate in