THE landscape has changed for Celtic. As has the opposition, along with the increasing degree of difficulty. But for Brendan Rodgers, the ambition remains very much the same.

The Celtic manager is approaching the half-way point of his European aspirational plan. Progress has undoubtedly been made, but a dose of realism is never too far away from Rodgers as he attempts to temper the hopes and dreams of others while in the precarious position of trying to deliver.

The words were uttered almost exactly a year ago. It was the eve of Celtic’s fourth game of their maiden Champions League group game under the Northern Irishman, and Rodgers was standing in a conference suite in a Dutch hotel room, previewing their impending game with Borussia Moenchengladbach.

“I would hope Celtic are a last 16 team in two or three years’ time, absolutely. And consistently,” he said. “I think that was the aim for me coming here, it was to really build the club.

“For us, that is to qualify for the Champions League, get out of group stages and see how far we can go there. We have to have that ambition. This gives us the chance to build towards that.”

Celtic would go on to draw the game the following night on November 1, Moussa Dembele’s late penalty almost providing the springboard to a famous win. It stood as a landmark result for this Celtic team, who proved that even against high Bundesliga opposition they could hold their own. Twelve months on, they will look to do the same at Celtic Park when Bayern Munich come to town this week.

with a completely different backdrop from their hosts.

Despite being heavily beaten 5-0 by Paris St Germain and 3-0 in the Allianz Arena, the rousing 3-0 victory away to Anderlecht has Celtic ahead of where they were last season in terms of points, and within a real shout of staying in Europe beyond Christmas. But midway through his second European campaign, Rodgers took stock of how far his team have come, and where they can go next.

"It's an ambition,” he said of the last-16 dream. “The notion last year was to qualify, this year was to qualify and then could we have European football [beyond Christmas?], that would be a significant step for us and then develop it year on year. That hasn't changed and always the ambition would be to try and do that.

“Like I said earlier in the campaign, success for us we just don't want to see as qualification. We want to make the next steps. That's just time and experience, the improvement and development of players, that's how it all comes together, and then hopefully you can make those steps that are required. It's always going to be difficult but it’s been great to see the development of a lot of the players and hopefully that continues.

“I think that in modern football now it’s increasingly difficult year on year. If you look at while I’ve been here in the two group stages the teams we’ve been playing against.Whenever you are in their working and playing against that level it’s difficult. But it’s to be competitive firstly then to develop and grow an idea of working and playing.”

Rodgers also reflected on that night in the Allianz Arena two weeks ago. In what was a largely one-sided affair, Celtic actually finished the game relatively well as they saw more of the ball and pushed – an albeit relaxed – Bayern back.

There are lessons to be learned in how to combat the Germans, but for the Celtic manager it’s not complicated.

“The lessons are simple. They are top, top quality players and if they bring their A game and we bring ours they win. If they bring their A game and we bring anything less then we lose,” he said. “It’s pretty straight forward. That’s why the game is the way it is. That’s why the big clubs at that level have the money and investment. There’s a reason the players are playing at that level.

“For us, I think on reflection we had a better second half and in particular the last 20 minutes. We have an idea of how we are playing and have shown it plenty of times. That game we were disappointed how we played particularly in the first half but when you come away and learn the lessons from that it’s about trying to impose going forward.

“We did that against Hibs and we certainly did it against Aberdeen. It’s another sign for us that we are working in the way we want to work.”