THE mists of time are very much like the fog that engulfs Turin every winter.

It's impossible to pick out anything, then clarity emerges. David Moyes undertook his own journey back in time to the Italian city this week, 32 years on from the ultimate examination of his character.

The former Celtic defender, now 49, admitted his memories of facing Juventus as an 18-year-old in September 1981 for his European Cup baptism of fire have been buried beneath the later years as one of the longest-established managers in English football.

But an idea of how the teenager handled many of the men who would lead Italy to their 1982 World Cup triumph came from the match report by The Herald's Jim Reynolds. Reynolds noted that the injured Danny McGrain's stand-in at right-back "played bravely and well, as more experienced men around him wilted under the pressure".

Moyes' modest response now to that is simply to say: "I knew I had done OK." If Moyes passed his test, Celtic failed. Billy McNeill's side could not protect a 1-0 lead from Glasgow and lost 2-0 to go out of the competition. Moyes, though, grew up on that torrid night in Turin when the drifting smoke from the flares of the Juventus ultras in the old Stadio Communale added extra menace.

The Everton manager believes the current Celtic generation have also grown up in Europe this season. Neil Lennon's side may be heading to Turin on a fruitless task in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, after being mugged 3-0 on their own patch three weeks ago, but Moyes does not think the journey should be shrouded in regret.

"I hope Neil Lennon goes to Turin and gets something," he says. "He should not be worried. Rather, he should just be thinking of what a great run Celtic have had in the competition and go out there and show everyone how well they can play. No team could turn around a 3-0 deficit at Juventus, but they should give it a go. Don't go out with a whimper.

"They have proved so many people wrong just by getting to this stage. They showed in the Camp Nou they can be disciplined, they won 3-2 in Moscow against Spartak, and they have scored in all their away games.

"Everyone in England has been asking me about them this season. People down here think Celtic have been brilliant in the Champions League and beating Barcelona was a great achievement. This season has restored Celtic's great European reputation."

Moyes was an analyst for STV for the first leg and is still bemused at how Juventus carried out a game-plan relying on blatant holding inside the box at corners to stop Celtic players exploiting deliveries by Charlie Mulgrew and Kris Commons.

"I am amazed that Celtic did not get at least one penalty," he added. "It was not just the fact that the referee missed it, so did the extra officials behind the goals."

Moyes added: "They did not do too much wrong until late in the game. Italian teams have history of defending well and a great mentality. The game-plan relies on being allowed to pull and hold in the box at set-pieces and get away with it, like Celtic found out."

Moyes had first-hand experience of the dark arts of defending. "The Italians were celebrated in the 1980s for how well they defended," he said. "They had Claudio Gentile, who was called 'The Assassin'. In those days, they would not allow you to move in the box. Juventus had three of the back four that won the World Cup final for Italy in 1982, as well as Dino Zoff in goal."

It was Zoff who stopped Moyes putting Celtic ahead that night, palming the defender's header over the bar.

"I had been an unused substitute in the first game against Juventus. In those days, teams did not carry the sort of big squads that every top club have now, so players had to be adaptable. It was quite nerve-racking. I remember looking down my wing to see Liam Brady in the Juventus midfield. Five of the side that beat us won the World Cup.

"They had two top strikers, Pietro Paolo Virdis and Roberto Bettega, who both scored before half-time. I remember we had a chance late on from a corner and we almost got the goal that would have taken us through on the away-goals rule.

"Turin was very intimidating. The noise was incredible - it was a really hostile place. The Juventus fans were baying for blood and it was a tough night."

Moyes is living proof of the old maxim "what does not kill you makes you stronger". Lennon will hope his team also flourishes once Turin fades into the memory.