Ange Postecoglou blasts back at Celtic Champions League critics as he takes aim at 'agenda' against his team

Spiky Ange Postecoglou is adamant Celtic DO belong at the top level of European football - and says anyone suggesting otherwise has an agenda.

The Australian has watched his side take just one point from four Champions League games and their hopes of any European football after Christmas now hang by a thread. But he's insistent he'd much rather be at the top level and struggle to keep up than not be there at all.

He says he's learned a lot about the Scottish "woe is me" mentality since arriving in Glasgow - watching fans react to Steve Clarke and the Scottish National Team's progress. But he's warned against overreacting and insists his team are exactly where they belong, even if results haven't shown it.

When asked if it's beneficial for Celtic to be involved in the Champions League, Postecoglou said: “As opposed to just not being involved at all? So what you’re saying is that we play domestic competition and just ignore everything else? I get your question and I understand the whole… living here for 18 months now I’ve seen the Scottish national team go from heroes to no-hopers to heroes again.

“So I get this whole boom-bust cycle, and getting to here and the whole ‘woe is me’. We’re not the only country that struggles to get results at Champions League level.

“I can only talk for my club but if anyone can tell me that from the four games we’ve played that we don’t deserve to be there, or that we’ve been outplayed or looked out of place, then I reckon they’re talking from an agenda or some sort of bias.

“The questions I’ve had after each of our games is about opportunities missed. The ‘opportunities missed’ suggests that we’ve got to improve some areas for sure, but doesn’t say that we somehow don’t belong in a