Carl Starfelt insists Celtic are not giving up the fight for a Europa League knockout spot.
But the defender says his team simply have to focus on Ferencvaros as they fight to stay alive in the brutal qualification battle from Group G.
Celtic and the Hungarians are stuck at the bottom of the section with no points from two outings ahead of their showdown in Glasgow’s East End on Tuesday.
Bayer Leverkusen and Real Betis both have six points in the bag with the Germans and Spanish long odds-on favourites to advance to the next phase.
Ange Postecoglou’s Hoops side conceded eight goals in their opening two group games against the La Liga side and the Bundesliga outfit last month and appear to be fighting to overcome Ferencvaros to finish third in the table and at least secure a post-Christmas place in the Conference League knockout round.
However, the Swedish defender is not for tossing in the towel and Starfelt said: “We are aiming to win every match and we hope not only to finish third but to go through.
“We need good performances for that to happen.
“All our focus is on Tuesday. We want to win on Tuesday and then go through.
“I think we should have got points in Betis so I think even though we face good teams we can perform if we play well and get results.
“In Betis we were away to a very good side but we still showed that we can compete and be good.
“Unfortunately we didn’t win but we showed we can score goals and dominate.
“We are also learning from these big matches, like the Betis and Leverkusen games.
“A lot of our players have not played many European games against such opposition, so every time we go out we learn something.”
Asked if six points from the home and away clashes with Ferencvaros, the Hungarian champions who knocked Celtic out of last season’s Champions League under Neil Lenon’s management, was a realistic target, Starfelt added: “Of course I think that is realistic.
“But right now it is Tuesday. We try to win and take it from there.
“It is a very important game but right now every game is important. Saturday at Motherwell was equally as important.”
