Ange Postecoglou said he and his players must pick themselves up quickly following Wednesday’s Champions League disappointment, as they to Tynecastle for tomorrow night’s Premiership opener.

The Celtic manager praised his side’s work-rate over the course of both European legs and said that, regardless of the result, the squad’s focus remains the same - to perform well in the capital and return to Paradise with three points.

“Even if we’d won the other night my view wouldn’t have changed, we need to get off to a really positive start – both with performance and result,” said Ange Postecoglou. “Everyone will obviously focus on the result, but for me we also need to put in a strong performance.

“For us, the league is where we can make the biggest impact over the course of a season. We need to be strong right from the first game, it won’t be an easy one away at Hearts, that’ll be a challenge for us, but we absolutely need to get off to a strong start.

‘I know Hearts is always a good contest and we’re well-prepared – not just me, but the staff as well. The players have all of the information we need.’

Looking to the long-term, the manager is certain his side will continue to improve game-to-game this season, but is equally determined to kick-off the new campaign with a win and a solid performance.

He added: “The first game is tomorrow so we’ve just got to be prepared for that. I’ve got no doubt we’ll improve, and I’ve got no doubt we’ll grow into the season.

“That doesn’t mean we’re going to start slowly or try to navigate our way through the early parts. We need to start strongly tomorrow, with a performance and with a result, but there’s no doubt in mind that as the season goes on, we’ll get stronger and we’ll see how far that takes us.”

Ange Postecoglou: We want to start league strongly with a good performance