Celtic vs Fenerbahce - Commons: RVP and Nani world class but don't scare Celtic

Kris Commons hailed Robin van Persie and Nani as world class but the Celtic midfielder is not fazed by Fenerbahce.

The 32-year-old, as a Derby County player, faced up to Nani when the Portugal international was at Manchester United and he experienced the abilities of Holland striker Van Persie at first hand on international duty with Scotland six years ago.

Commons was succinct in his summation of the duo - "they are world class" - but insists the Ladbrokes Premiership side will not be worried ahead of the Europa League clash with the Turkish side at Parkhead on Thursday night.

"They have been at the top of their game for a long, long period of time and proved they are world-class players so I regard them very highly," Commons said.

"We've seen footage of them in the last couple of days and they've still got the business.

"We're going to come up against a very strong team but I wouldn't say we're scared of any individual.

"Our game plan is to eliminate their best players but there's nothing to worry about.

"It will be very difficult. I regard this group as a Champions League group.

"It's full of top quality European players. When they put their starting eleven out you will see some household names but if we put our mind to it we'll give them a good game."

Hoops boss Ronny Deila will ignore speculation about a rift between Van Persie and Fenerbahce coach Vitor Pereira.

The 32-year-old former Arsenal and Manchester United striker has not always been a first pick but has come off the bench to score in the Turkish side's last two games, a 2-1 home win over Bursaspor and a 3-2 away defeat by Besiktas.

"There are a lot of rumours in football," said the Norwegian.

"We have to focus on what we are going to do to cause Fenerbahce problems and they have to deal with what they have to deal with.

"What we know about Fenerbahce is that when they are playing at their best they are a very good team and van Persie is a fantastic player and goal scorer as well.

"He has been in and out of the team lately but he has scored when he has come on and everybody knows he is quality, a top striker.

"We have seen their four latest games and they lost the last game against Besiktas.

"We know they have a lot of quality players and they are a good team when they are playing at their best but we also see weaknesses that we can exploit."

Deila is without Emilio Izaguirre, who is suspended after he was sent off in the 2-2 draw against Ajax in the Group A opener earlier in the month.

Defender Jozo Simunovic remains a doubt with a twisted ankle but midfielder Stuart Armstrong is available after recovering from a back injury. Charlie Mulgrew is still out with a thigh complaint.

Nani recalled being hooked at half-time the last time he was at Celtic Park by an irate Sir Alex Ferguson.

The 28-year-old Portugal forward was just over a year into his Manchester United career when the Old Trafford side travelled north in November 2008 for their Champions League group game against the Hoops.

Nani struggled to cope with the physicality of a passionate first half which saw Scott McDonald give the home side the lead and he felt the wrath of the legendary United boss at the break before being replaced by Dimitar Berbatov, with the visitors scoring a late equaliser through Ryan Giggs.

Ahead of the clash with Celtic, where the Turkish side look to get back on track after losing their opener 3-1 to Norwegian side Molde, the former Sporting Lisbon player remembered Ferguson's frustration.

"I remember when I played my first game here, it was a little bit hard," he said.

"I was too young and the manager was shouting to me every time to be more strong because they were tackling a lot but this is part of the game.

"I have learned a lot and we have to be strong on the pitch.

"We can expect it to be a little bit of a physical game.

"Some tackles tomorrow is no problem, the most important thing is that no one goes off injured.

"Celtic is a team who likes to attack when they play at home.

"They have a very strong mentality from the first minute to the last minute, like in England, so we have to be prepared to play for 90 minutes plus a few more on the same level.

"It is important to start winning in this competition. We had a bad result in the last game but we have to focus on the next task and try to win the game."