Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk has admitted the club needs to be competing in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League this season.

The Dutch star will be part of the Celtic team that travels to Azerbaijan on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s third qualifying round, second-leg clash against Qarabag.

Ronny Delia’s side secured a 1-0 win last week but Van Dijk admits his side cannot take their foot off the gas.

Delia’s side warmed up for the mid-week clash with a 2-0 win over Ross County in their first match of the new Scottish Premiership season, with Leigh Griffiths and Stefan Johansen on target.

Celtic’s chances of keeping hold of Van Dijk will also be boosted if they qualify for the group stages of the Champions League, with several Premier League clubs interested in his services.

A win for Celtic on Wednesday night will then send them into the play-off round and Van Dijk has urged his team to deliver when it matters.

“Hopefully we can secure a Champions League place as Celtic need to be there,” he told the Daily Record. “We are very close and we have a very good squad with a lot of quality.

“In Europe we need to play differently as there are other things going to be asked for from the back four and the midfielders in front of us.

“At the beginning of last season we didn’t do it too well but now we talk a lot about it. Hopefully we can show that on Wednesday as well.”