THE good ship Van Dijk has been cruising through home waters but the turbulent seas of Europe have proved more testing.

It was instructive to watch Virgil Van Dijk steam forward against Hamilton Academical on Sunday as Celtic eased to a 4-0 victory at Parkhead. The Europa League has proved more problematical for the Dutchman and his team mates. Celtic have lost 22 goals in Europe while proving extraordinarily resilient in defence in domestic league matches.

There is a gulf in the problems presented by Scottish teams and those in the Europa League. Celtic lost a goal against st Johnstone on St Valentine's Day. The previous goals conceded in domestic matches were in a 2-1 away defeat to Dundee United on December 21. In Europe, three or more goals have been conceded to Legia Warsaw, Red Bull Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb.

Van Dijk, the 23-year-old signed from Groningen in 2011, is aware of the disparity between parsimony at home and fecklessness in Europe but he is hopeful both of a good result in the San Siro tomorrow and of continued evidence of the resurgence of John Guidetti, who ended his run of 10 matches without a goal by scoring spectacularly against Internazionale last week and then added another against Hamilton on Sunday.

''I've been talking a lot with him lately as he's had a tough time," said the defender of the Swede who is on loan from Manchester City.

'Everyone has been criticising him but he's still been working hard and has a good mentality. He's happy to be here and he scored an amazing goal for us against Inter that means so much. That's what every striker needs when he's having a hard time."

Van Dijk knows Celtic as a team have endured difficult moments in European at times, no more traumatic than the first 13 minutes against Inter at Celtic Park on Thursday when goals by Xherdan Shaquiri and Rodrigo Palacio seemed to take the tie far beyond the Scottish champions.

The defender retained enough of his native composure to maintain hope in the midst of such a storm . "You still have to be positive, of course. There was still almost 80 minutes to play. We managed to keep calm and work our way back into the tie," he said.

Celtic came back to equalise through a smart strike from Stuart Armstrong and a own goal from Hugo Campagnaro but a blunder by Craig Gordon allowed Inter to lead at half-time before Guidetti forced a draw just before full time.

'We got a positive result and that was the most important thing but we know we can still do better," said Van Dijk of the draw that means Celtic almost certainly have to win in the San Siro to progress to the last 16.

But Van Dijk was confident, saying: "We now have a chance against them."

He and his team mates have been encouraged by a second-half performance against Inter that showed pace and energy to complement the spirit needed to come from two goals behind against a Serie A side

"We had the belief before the game and to lose two early goals made it a real test," said Van Dijk.

He added: 'But we stayed positive and moved on. We tried to play the way we wanted to before we started the match. I think we did that well in the second half. You don't want to concede at all so of course you are angry at 2-0. We have to learn from this and get a result in the San Siro."

Van Dijk knows that Celtic's pressing game will have to be in full order but accepts that defensively the team must be more resilient than in other European ventures.

Signed for £2.6m from Groningen, Van Dijk has been courted by several teams in the English Premier League teams in the summer and was unsettled when speculation of a move in the summer window came to nothing.

Celtic then stated simply that they would not sell him in the January window and the 6ft 4ins Dutchman has settled down to dominate domestic matches to such as extent that he looks like the secondary boy playing against primary pupils.

He has been tested in Europe, however, where his mistakes, whether in possession or positioning, have been punished. Celtic's aggressive pressing can sometimes leave the central defence without adequate protection but Van Dijk has the opportunity in San Siro to give a performance that would seal a move south in the summer.

He believes Inter are far from invincible and was impressed by the immediate impact made by Armstrong and Gray Mackay-Steven on their European debuts for the club. But this youthful enterprise must be backed by defensive strength.

'We showed a lot of character and team spirit at Celtic and went on to play very well," said Van Dijk.

San Siro tomorrow offers another challenge. "They gave us some possibilities," said Van Dijk. "They try and play every time they are under pressure so that gives us hope. But we also need to start the game better."

The tide may yet well be with the home side but good ship Van Dijk is still buoyant.