The former Dundee United man has had to watch from the sidelines as the team recovered from that defeat to reach the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time.

Wilson viewed the dramatic 1-0 home victory over Manchester United from the bench.

But he now he wants to play a full part in the Glasgow side’s European run which will continue until the last-16 stage at least.

Wilson said: “It’s great for the team to be winning in the Champions League, but, when you are sitting in the stand, you feel a bit detached.

“You are going along with the celebrations, but you do feel a bit down that you are not part of it.

“So it has been tough because you want to play – you are desperate to play.

“But it was good to be involved against Manchester United in the last match at Celtic Park.

“I felt part of it again and, hopefully, I will be involved at some stage next Wednesday in Copenhagen.

“And, after qualifying through to the next round, it could give me another chance to be involved but I will just need to wait and see.

“The manager said, ’Do you know that you need to be patient?’ He knows I do. I totally agree with him and have no complaints.”

In addition to their historic European run, Hoops are on course to retain their Bank of Scotland Premier League title.

Wilson believes the Parkhead side’s success so far this season has proved the doubters wrong, especially those who thought Paul Le Guen would bring instant success to rivals Rangers after taking over at Ibrox in the summer.

The defender said: “At the start of the season, when Paul Le Guen came in, a lot of people were saying Rangers were going to win the league convincingly.

“We were kind of written off in the Champions League as well, with people saying that, maybe, we would be lucky to grab a UEFA Cup place after our group games were completed.

“But we are a good side, a hard team to come up against, especially at home.

“It’s been a fantastic start and I just hope we can continue it.”