De Boer hoping to spring surprise

​Frank de Boer believes Ajax can cause another upset in the UEFA Champions League when they face Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

Although the Eredivisie champions failed to make it out of their group last season they did achieve an eye-catching 2-1 home success over Barcelona, despite playing almost half the match with 10 men.

It will take a similarly heroic effort for the Amsterdam club to triumph over a PSG outfit that has been assembled on a sizeable budget, but De Boer remains confident in his side’s ability to get a result.

“[Paris Saint-Germain] are a very nice team to watch and they always try to play attacking football,” the 44-year-old head coach said. “I don’t look at their budget – I just see an opponent.

“We have respect for every opponent, but we always try to look for where we can take advantage.

“They have more quality now and more experience, that’s a fact, but the team with the biggest budget doesn’t always win.”

De Boer, who lifted the trophy with Ajax in 1995, is realistic about their chances, though, and admits qualifying from the group that also includes Barca and APOEL would be a major step forward.

“We just talk about surviving the winter in the Champions League, and not about winning it yet,” he added. “Getting that far would already be a success for us.

“Often experience makes the difference and the players who have the experience of last year they have already left for those big leagues.

“That’s what happens at Ajax every year, so it’s hard to take the next step up, but we hope it will happen in the future.”