“The fans have been outstanding this whole campaign and they have supported us home and away.

“Everyone talks about the home nights at Celtic Park on European nights but our away support is something we’re really proud of.

'For everyone at this club they’ve really been looking forward to this game.'

“There’s history between these clubs with Alfredo Di Stefano’s testimonial but to be here again at the Bernabeu, hopefully it’s a game that’s memorable for everyone including our supporters.”

Ahead of the game, the manager also gave a squad update, with Cameron Carter-Vickers not travelling with the team to Madrid.

He said: "Squad-wise from the weekend, Cameron Carter-Vickers pulled a bit sore from the game on Sunday. The artificial pitch wasn't great for him, so we've left him at home.

"Everyone else apart from Callum McGregor is fit and available and we're looking forward to it.”

It’s been a competition so far for Celtic where they have proved their ability against Europe’s best, taking on the challenges and going toe-to-toe with the elite.

Only two points have been earned, but more than that, it’s been a valuable learning experience for the group, and this stage is one that the manager hopes his team will continuously be at in the years to come.

He added: “I think this club deserves to be at this level and what this does is give me the appetite to ensure we’re here every year and make an impact because it’s what the football club deserves.

'We get 60,000 every week and have an unbelievable stadium which creates a unique atmosphere and a club like ours deserves to be playing at this level.'

“It’s not just about the outcomes, it’s about knowing if we want to make an impact, where do we need to chip away at and in every game we’ve really measured ourselves against the best by playing our football and sticking to who we are as a club.

“The first part of it is to make sure we’re here next year. What we can’t do for a club our size is qualify every three or four years because you can’t make any progress with that absence.

“I don’t think it’s a linear thing but you have to be there knocking on the door and eventually you get the response you want.

“I think the whole Champions League campaign for us has been a great process in us understanding what we can bring to these games and the areas we need to keep improving.

“In every game we’ve had our moments and we haven’t taken them but that’s come from playing our football and we know when the opposition have their moments they punish you.”

Manager: Our goal is to get a memorable result against Real Madrid