Ange Postecoglou will become the first Australian to ever manage a club in the UEFA Europa League when he takes charges of Celtic in the competition on Friday morning (AEST).
The former Socceroos coach will get his first taste of European competition against La Liga side Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin Stadium in Seville.
Betis are currently managed by Manuel Pellegrini, who has previously taken charge of Real Madrid, Manchester City and West Ham.
Like Postecoglou, this match will be Pellegrini's first experience in the Europa League in its current form, with the 67-year-old previously managing Villarreal in the UEFA Cup over a decade ago.
Celtic have never won an away match against a Spanish side in European competition having lost 15 of their 18 such games to date.
While historically a significant match for Postecoglou and the Hoops, the Aussie coach doesn't want his side to take a backwards step and believes how they approach the game is just as important as the result.
"This is an opportunity to test ourselves against a very good side away from home and it's why we were so pleased to get into this group stage because we knew we'd get some pretty exciting fixtures," Postecoglou said at his pre-match press conference.
"You definitely do want to enjoy but I think to enjoy it you've got to go in there with the view of trying to have an impact. By that, I mean can we play our football against some quality opposition home and away and test our resolve to try and be the football team we're starting to show we want to be - we're not there yet.
"That's the exciting thing. You get involved in some special nights hopefully, so you want to enjoy that but I want that enjoyment to come from us believing in something and that something for us is the kind of football team we want to be.
"I don't want to go there fearful or hesitant about the outcome. To truly enjoy the experience and take in the experience, I've always felt you go and give all of yourself and believe in something. Usually you come away having lived that experience to its fullest.
"That's the kind of gospel I try to tell them everyday. There's not a football team, player or coach that doesn't want to win. That's not what makes you unique.
"So from my perspective it's about who we want to be, how we want to portray ourselves as individuals and more importantly what kind of football team do we want to be.
"For some people that's probably too grandiose and that's alright, I get that, but that's my way of coaching and what I want to create.
"We talk about that with the players on a daily basis so that when it comes to a game like this I'm not all of sudden having a major shift in what I'm telling them, it's a continuation in what I've been telling them from day one."
🇪🇸 After 18 years, the Bhoys return to Seville for European action.
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) September 15, 2021
👍 Our 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕥𝕖 battle awaits - @RealBetis_en! 🟢⚔️⚪️#UEL | #COYBIG 🍀 pic.twitter.com/6ID65ww9My
Celtic will be without a host of players for the match against Real Betis with captain Callum McGregor and winger Liel Abada ruled out, while both Kyogo Furuhashi and Greg Taylor remain sidelined.
Postecoglou was quick to stress that those absentees and the club's record in Spain won't change his approach to the game with nothing less than a win on his mind.
"If you start scratching around for a point here or there or trying to accumulate a certain amount of points to get through...it's not the type of football team we want to be," he said.
"We'll go there and try to win a game of football and that doesn't change. Our approach won't change.
"It's not that we don't recognise the difficulty of the opposition or playing away from home, I understand all that, but playing for those sorts of outcomes is fraught with danger. You're kind of starting with conceding something and I'm not prepared to concede anything to anyone in any way, shape or form."