PER-EGIL FLO is hoping to keep up the family tradition by putting one over Celtic and denting Scottish hopes in Molde on Thursday night.

Flo's uncle, Havard, helped dump Scotland out of a World Cup, his header during the 1-1 draw with Craig Brown's side at France '98 enabling Norway to qualify at our expense.

Two years later second cousin, Tore Andre, was the scourge of Celtic on his Rangers debut, marking his Ibrox debut after a £12m move with a goal during a crushing 5-1 Old Firm victory.

Brought up on tales of his relative's exploits in Glasgow, the Molde defender is desperate to heap similar misery on the Parkhead outfit when they square up in the Europa League.

Flo said: “Of course I'm well aware of Tore Andre's achievements.

“Through my family I know all about his career, the teams he played for and the success he had.

“He had a big influence on Scotland during his time at Rangers and I'm sure he will be supporting me against Celtic.

“I know all about the rivalry between Rangers and Celtic and while it won't be quite like that when we play them, it still should be fun.

“Celtic are the best team in Scotland and it will be a good test for us.

“They have a strong Norwegian connection through the manager and Stefan Johansen, so I know all about them.

“I have watched a few of their games recently and they will be strong opponents.”

Flo shares a dressing room with Johansen at international level and firmly believes nullifying the threat of Scotland's current Player of the Year could be the key to victory.

With a two-point advantage at the head of Group A following a win in Turkey against Fenerbahce in and a draw with Ajax, victory against Celtic would put Molde in pole position to qualify for the knockout phase of the competition.

Flo said: “Stefan's certainly one to look out for. He will be the main link between midfield and their offensive players.

“Taking him out is going to be important if we want to win the game.

“We have had a good start to the group stage and we want that to continue.

“This is a home match for us and if we can beat Celtic then we have a really good chance to qualify for the next stage.”

Like our own struggling nation, Norway have also failed to make their presence felt on the European and international stages in recent seasons.

It is a long time since Rosenborg reached the group stage of the Champions League 11 times between 1991 and 2004 and even longer since the country last qualified for a major tournament.

That was Euro 2000, but if Norway can beat Hungary in the play-offs to reach next summer's extravaganza in France and Molde can claim Celtic's scalp then Flo feels it can put his country back on the footballing map.

He added: “It is going to be a fun couple of months as there is a lot to look forward to.

“If Molde and Rosenborg do well in the Europa League then the other countries will sit up and take notice of us again.

“And if Norway qualify for the Euros as well it would suddenly start to look good for us again.”