Scoreboard fixators rounded on by Celtic's Ange Postecoglou - 'I don't know why half of them bother going to games'

“I’m not thinking about Madrid because I won’t disrespect any game I’m involved in,” said the 57-year-old. “If people think I’m not excited or up for Livingston on Sunday, they don’t know me. That’s what I love about football. Every game is an opportunity to achieve something, whether it’s at Livingston or in the Bernabeu. I don’t take any game of football for granted, I never have.

“At some point, it’ll all finish for me and I won’t have any ground to go to. That’s when you realise that every game is special. The Bernabeau will be a great occasion for the football club but we want to go into it having won at the weekend, having played well – then we can challenge ourselves against the best in Europe.”

Postecoglou was asked whether a performance in the Bernabeau would “put down a marker” – send out the signal that Celtic intended to be back and better in the blue riband competition next season. Following a fresher campaign sortie in which they have certainly competed in adventurous fashion, but claimed only two draws from five Group F outings.

“It depends, because some people just look at the scoreboard and that’s their only measure,” the Celtic manager said. “I don’t know why half of them go to games. Because their only analysis around the whole game is ‘they won’, ‘they lost’ and that’s it. We know, internally, what’s important. If we play our football against one of the best club sides in the world away from home it will give us more belief and fuel to come back next year and put on stronger performances.”