Ange Postecoglou says he wants to uphold Celtic ’s European traditions and make magic memories which last long after he has left.
The Aussie boss leads his troops into Wednesday night's crunch against AZ Alkmaar aware of the importance of impressing on the continent.
Postecoglou was unable to negotiate the Champions League qualifiers, but victory over the Dutch in two legs will propel the club into the group stage of the Europa League.
The gaffer feels it’s vital to make an impact abroad and explained: “Long after I’m gone, hopefully, I have made an impact at this fantastic football club. That’s what we all want to do.
“If you’re a manager, you want to do things that, hopefully, outlast your own tenure. That’s the opportunity in Europe.
“It’s why you come to a football club like this.
“You have that opportunity to repair or uphold the traditions of this football club.
“The traditions and values are that this football club has always made an impact in Europe, one way or another.
“That’s the opportunity that has been given to me and it’s definitely a motivation for sure.
“It’s big. We’re disappointed at dropping out of the Champions League.
“This is our next opportunity, to progress to the Europa League group stage, and it’s one that we want to take.
“If you told me we were going to lose money on this one, I’d still want to win it, I guarantee you that.
“I don’t see it as stepping up or stepping down. Every game has its challenge.
“We are talking about getting to the Europa League group stage and we would get good opposition then, so we can’t look at it that way.
“If we play the football we have shown in the last few games, whether that’s parts of the game or longer periods where we dominate, we will be difficult for any opponent, irrespective of their level. That’s our goal.”
Postecoglou’s team go into the contest in flying form having smashed 16 goals in winning their last four matches.
The manager added: “It’s a good opportunity for us to build on that momentum. It’s another home game. We are on a good stretch of home games at the moment. It’s hugely positive.
“It was of great importance to us when we let fans back into the stadium that we gave them hope and some belief so that they could get behind us. And we have done that.
“It’s a European game against a really good opponent. I think it will be a cracking game, one that we can get some more positive momentum out of.”
