Celtic great Chris Sutton believes Celtic will be geared up to give some of the world’s best a “bloody nose” as Ange Postecoglou gets set to lead his side into the Champions League group stages in September.

The Hoops have been allocated Pot four in the draw which means there’s a very minimal chance of avoiding some of Europe’s elite clubs. But Celtic legend Sutton is confident Postecoglou will stick to his free-flowing attacking football no matter the opposition and insists the overall aim should be to give their opponents a good run for their money.

He said to the Record Sport Podcast: "Performances are important. I think what Ange Postecoglou will be looking for is to give one or two teams a bloody nose this season. All he talks about is the process and performance and watching Celtic at the weekend dominate the ball, I think Postecoglou will want to do that.

"You mention last season, I don't think it's necessarily fair to judge Celtic as a team in Europe last season because it was all about the league. It was disappointing in Europe, you can't get away from that fact, and this season there will be people scrutinising saying 'can they compete?'.

"You saw what happened under Brendan Rodgers and his philosophy and going into Europe and getting absolutely smashed and walloped. I suspect there'll be games in Europe where Celtic will play with a bit more balance and maybe not so gung-ho as they are in domestic competitions.

"Postecoglou isn't daft and he'll realise the standard of teams they're up against but I think he'll have the same sort of principles of dominating the ball, being brave on the ball, and giving one or two a bloody nose.

"And I do think Celtic are capable of that but I still worry about Celtic defensively and their brand of football being exposed because when you go up a level the spaces you find are too big against the big teams and you get exploited, but I'm sure Postecoglou has a plan for that.

"Giving some teams a bloody nose is what Celtic will be looking to do and the first games in the Champions League are absolutely crucial. If they can get something from the opening couple of games, it'll offer some hope, whereas it was thoroughly depressing last time out in the Champions League."