Ange Postecoglou is looking for the Paradise mutual appreciation society to play its part tomorrow night (Wednesday) when his Hoops side take on AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa League play-off at Celtic Park.

The crowd will react to the driving intensity of the men on the pitch right from the first whistle, while those clad in green and white in the stands will inspire the players to even greater industry in attacking the opposition goal.

Speaking to Celtic TV ahead of the Europa League clash, the Celtic manager said: “Alkmaar are a good side, they are a young team so they’ll be full of energy and their season has just kicked off, so they’re going to be pretty fresh. They’ll be excited about playing at Celtic Park in front of a capacity crowd.

'I think it will be a typical European night, there will be plenty of high-tempo quality football, and we’ll play our part in that.'

And the Celtic boss knows that the noise from the crowd at Paradise will play a big part in the proceedings also.

He said: “We’ve just seen in the last couple of games, that we’ve got off to a great start in them, and that’s literally feeding off the energy – both from the players to our supporters and our fans to the players, the crowd will be a big part of it for sure.”

Alkmaar could well pose the toughest challenge so far this season for this energetic side, but the manager is adamant that Celtic’s approach to this game will not change, following differing opposing sides over recent weeks..

He said: “They’ve all got different challenges. I know people will say it’s a step up, but I've never looked at football that way, as one thing football teaches you is that if you take anything for granted, it’ll slap you right in the face.

“Every game is important, every game is a challenge, and for us what is paramount is that what we’ve done in the last four or five games is we are increasing and improving our football in the tempo that we want to play, particularly at home, so irrespective of the opponent, what we want to do is take that approach.”

It's the improvement over the recent weeks that has pleased the manager the most as they get set for the visit of the Dutch side, as he explained.

'The key thing for me over the last four games has been the consistent improvement in our football.'

"The players have been sticking to the task and, obviously we want to win games and that's the most important thing, but trying to stick to the principles of the way we want to play has been really pleasing.

“Particularly with the home games and knowing the crowds are in there, and we want to start the season and our relationship with the supporters in a positive way, I think it’s been good."

Celtic TV subscribers can watch the full and exclusive interview with Ange Postecoglou.

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Ange: Players and fans will feed off the Celtic Park energy