Gian Piero Gasperini has vowed Atalanta won't underestimate Celtic as he defended Brendan Rodgers' approach in the Champions League.

The Serie A boss has stated Celtic pose an attacking threat and his side will need to be at their best to claim victory in the league phase contest.

Celtic fell to a heavy 7-1 defeat last time out to Borussia Dortmund, but Gasperini has insisted unbeaten results in domestic competition highlight the dangers of the Parkhead club.

“You need to be careful, when we’re talking about the Champions League, because there’s some top teams," said Gasperini. “Against the top teams, if you perhaps get your approach wrong, you can concede a lot of goals. We’ve seen these kind of contrasting results so far as a result.

“So we will be taking into account the past two matches, but all the other games, such as the ones in the league as well.

“Atalanta would never underestimate an opponent. Celtic, especially in attack, are a very dangerous side, a very fast, rapid team. They’re used to winning, and they’re used to winning well.

“We need to be very attentive if we want to win this game. And to do so, we’ll have to put in a very good performance.”

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Rodgers had come under criticism over his approach in the Champions League after the thumping loss to Dortmund but Gasperini reckons Rodgers is right to stick to his principles.

Reflecting on Atalanta's progression in the competition from suffering heavy defeats to causing upsets, Gasperini stated "you can never turn down and ignore your spirit".

On Rodgers, the Atalanta boss said: “He is a very attacking coach. Because if you’re a team that wins a lot, you have to attack.

“You have to be balanced. In Italy, we say the best teams are the ones that have the best defence. But if you look at the numbers, it’s actually the teams that also score a lot of goals. If you want to win, it’s obvious you have to score.

“When we played Liverpool at home, we conceded five goals for the first time. Another time, five goals against City.

“But we learned from those experiences. We then picked up draws and then eventually went on to win those kind of games. You can never turn down and ignore your spirit, your style. You have to be true to that.

“And there’s phases in which you grow as a result with that. There is no obvious solution to win. The Champions League is obviously at times exclusive to some of the top, top teams. As for our club, we never want to alter our approach but stick to our beliefs.”