IF Ange Postecoglou wasn’t aware of the significance of Seville to Celtic when he arrived in Glasgow, it didn’t take long for him to get up to speed.

There are reminders of the Celtic invasion of Andalusia all around the stadium and training ground, a night when a final may have been lost, but the visiting hordes won the hearts of the locals.

As he brings his Celtic team to the city to embark on their own European adventure against Real Betis this evening, Postecoglou won’t be able to count upon the backing of such a bountiful and vociferous travelling support, though there are more than a few who still redeemed their flight tickets despite their match briefs being taken away.

Whether that smattering of supporters make it into the stadium or not, what will be at the forefront of Postecoglou’s mind – as it is most days – is that there are million of fans out there who are behind his team, and he is making it his mission to try and give them more memories like that special night in this city 18 years ago.

“I’m very aware of it, I’m sitting in a room now where there’s images of Martin O’Neill and all the fantastic Celtic support who followed us there for that game,” Postecoglou said.

“It’s not lost on me that the one thing about this football club is that if you can create a special memory, it’s chronicled here and it’s elevated to a status where the people involved can come back here in years to come and reflect on it.

“That’s the opportunity that exists for us as a group now, whether that’s in this game, the coming games or the coming years.

“It’s a special football club that’s had some special European nights. Our responsibility is to create some more for our fans.

“There aren’t many facts about Celtic that I’m not aware of, you’re constantly reminded of the successes and the near misses that have happened at this football club.

“That’s why I love being involved – there’s opportunities at every juncture to create our own memories and historical moments.

“That’s why you come to a club like Celtic and that’s why we were happy to get to the group stages of this competition because unless you’re in it you don’t get those opportunities.”

By happy coincidence, the final of the Europa League this season will also be held in Seville. Fans who were here first time around may be dreaming of history repeating itself and Celtic making it all the way back once more, but such lofty aims are being placed on Postecoglou’s backburner for now.

“I don’t think it’s something you mention when you’re just beginning a journey,” he said. “Wherever the final was, I don’t think anyone would not want to be involved in it.

“It would make some great headlines for you guys, some symmetry, if we got there again. But we’re at game one, and we’re playing a really good team away from home. Our focus has to be on that.

“The important thing is, let’s go here without any fear and try to play the football we have been playing at home. Try to take the game to a quality opponent and try to create something special.

“Playing at home, they will be looking to get on the front foot. They have got threats up front and out wide. They are a fairly stable team. There haven’t been a lot of changes from last year which is probably something that gives them a strong foundation in terms of the style of football they want to play.

“It’s really embedded in their group. They try to keep the ball, they try to get it to their front players, who can cause some damage. We’re going to have to defend at times, for sure. What’s most important for us is that we impose our will on the game and try to deny them some of the areas they're strong in by playing our football.

“I think when you play in any competition you try to get some success, that’s why you’re there. What that success looks like at the end, there are many different measures.

“For me, we’re still in the kind of embryonic stages of building a football team, and a style of football that I want us to take forward into every game we play.

“That’s what success will look like to me, if we can really make an impact with our football in what is a challenging group. That’s what I’m aiming for.

“I want us to be aggressive, to play attacking football, to score goals, to create special moments.

“Beyond that, how far that takes us in the tournament, that’s something you can’t really aim for or control. Our goal is to become a team that can excite our supporters both home and away.”

As if Celtic’s task against Manuel Pellegrini’s men tonight wasn’t daunting enough, they come to Seville not only without their fans, but without a host of key personnel.

The absence of captain Callum McGregor through injury will no doubt be the most keenly felt, but Liel Abada, Nir Bitton, James Forrest and Greg Taylor are all missing too.

Even without McGregor though, who so much of the play goes through in the midfield, Postecoglou won’t alter the plan just because he is being forced to alter the personnel.

“It’s something that’s happened to us before, but my belief is that it’s an opportunity for us to build a really strong group,” he said.

“If you start changing strategy because of one or two things happening, the players lose belief in what we’re trying to do. We change personnel but we stick to our principles and build some resilience in the group.

“Our captain’s out, a significant player, but we still march on, trying to be the footballers we want to be.”