Neil Lennon knows Celtic have to improve upon their woeful away record in Europe when they take on Udinese in their crunch Europa League Group I clash in Italy.
The Hoops have won only once in their last 32 games on the road in Europe - against Dinamo Moscow in 2009 under Tony Mowbray. But the Parkhead club have to win in the Stadio Friuli to get through to the knockout stages of the tournament in second place to Atletico Madrid.
The Hoops boss said: "Our record away from home has been a bugbear and there is no better time to break it than tonight. It is a daunting proposition for any team to come here but in that respect we know what we have to do."
Lennon added: "We are in good form, off the back of six wins in the league, and confidence is good.
"(In) each of the Europa games there has been a natural progression, it is a young team who are learning all the time and we will treat it like a cup final.
"It is a great incentive and one that we are all looking forward to. Going into the campaign a lot of people would have made us the whipping boys but we are very pleased with the way the team have played in the previous five games."
Lennon does not believe his side's recent form makes them favourites, though.
"To say that we are in with a chance of qualifying going into the last game is testament to the players and we are going to give it everything we have got," he added.
"There is pressure in every game that Celtic are involved in and it will be no different. We will probably go in to the game as underdogs I would imagine but there will still be an expectation from our supporters to get a favourable result."
Udinese boss Francesco Guidolin claims he is undecided as how strong a team to put out, and moaned about club's fixture list which sees them play Lazio on Sunday before they take on Juventus next Wednesday.
Source: PA
