Wherever you go at Celtic Park, there are reminders.

Whether it is the montage that surrounds the circumference of the stadium or the statue of Billy McNeill holding aloft the European Cup, there are memories charting every illustrious chapter that has gone before.

More recently, the triumph over Barcelona under Neil Lennon serves notice that sometimes the impossible can be done.

Read more: Barcelona are wary of a Celtic backlash as they don't expect an easy game at Parkhead

For Brendan Rodgers, though, it is not about a nod to the past but about firmly planting a foot in the here and now. And the Celtic manager has urged his team to make memories of their own as they prepare to take on Barcelona tonight in the penultimate Uefa Champions League game in Group C.

“It was a big performance from the players that played that night,” said Rodgers of the 2012 triumph. “Neil deserved that. But my message is to go and create new memories going forward.

“We can’t live in the past. That’s here as motivation and inspiration, but we have to create our own memories.

Read more: Barcelona are wary of a Celtic backlash as they don't expect an easy game at Parkhead

“And I think the current squad, in my time here, have shown that. Can they bring that now into this game here to a level that can get them a good result?”

And Rodgers believes that the current attacking triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez make up the most formidable forward line that Barcelona have had.

“I’m not sure we would have seen this Barcelona strike force back then,” he said. “Who did they have?

“Alexis Sanchez, Messi got them a goal to get back in it. At that moment in time they were the best. But this group here, with that front three, are the best. So whatever era you are in these are tough games and you have to try to get a result.”

Rodgers got a response from his side in the second game of the group when Celtic drew with Manchester City in arguably their best performance under the Northern Irishman.

Certainly, Rodgers believes that it set a blueprint the other teams took note of.

“I think you have to look at the context of the performance that night,” said the Celtic manager. “This is a team that was coming in and everyone thought they would come and streamroller us, a team that had come and won 10 out of 10 games and the Premier League is the most competitive league in the world.

“Everything was firing for City then, they were pressing, they were aggressive, and they came here and arguably we have actually changed the fortune of all the teams who have played against Manchester City since then. Because after that they lost to Tottenham and they went on a run of six games where they didn’t win. So my players have maybe created something for others to look at, in terms of how they played the game that night. It was a great performance. I’m greedy, I wanted to win. I want to perform well but I want to win and if we had won that night it would have been perfect.”

Read more: Barcelona are wary of a Celtic backlash as they don't expect an easy game at Parkhead

That manner in which Celtic started the game that night seemed to take City aback although, inevitably, they grew into the affair as the minutes went by.

Certainly, though, Rodgers would ideally like to see Celtic come flying out the traps again tonight as they look to make an early impression on Barcelona.

“That’s the hallmark of the team, the opening 20 minutes of the game, can you suffocate the opponent and be aggressive and can you make an early goal?” said Rodgers.

“That’s what we always look for in every single game we play in all the games.”

While Rodgers will be fully focussed on the game as the stadium fills up and the atmosphere starts to build, he has admitted that he likes to soak in the immediate minutes before kick-off on a frenzied European night.

“What I take a great pride in is when I come out and I look around me and I see the players lining up and seeing the staff wondering where the noise is coming from, because you can hardly hear the music,” he said. “It’s a real, deafening experience in terms of the noise. That’s why we work so hard, to get into these nights.

“I love it, of course, and that’s why we work so hard to get there because it they are really special occasions. But then obviously when the whistle goes you are focused on the game.”

One of the interesting stats that came out of Celtic’s 7-0 defeat to Barcelona in the Nou Camp on the opening night of this group was the fact that the Parkhead side conceded just three fouls against the Catalans.

It underlined a level of respect as Celtic stood off their opponents, something that Rodgers hopes will be replaced with a more robust approach this evening.

“I think we are a physical team,” said Rodgers. “I think we are an aggressive team when we defend. We are not cynical, but you can make tactical fouls. That is important. Everyone will make a tactical foul. If you have to do that then that is what you do.”

Realistically, Rodgers is well aware of the massive gap between the teams. Few would expect any Scottish team to live with the La Liga champions, a team who boast the talents of the best players in the world.

“I don’t complain about that,” said the former Liverpool manager. “I think wherever you play – even the English Premier League – you go to Barcelona and it’s a different level you are playing against.

Read more: Barcelona are wary of a Celtic backlash as they don't expect an easy game at Parkhead

“The level is just different. Here we are a team of dominance.

“My target for this team is to play the same way – whether we are in domestic football or the Champions League. It’s like I said after the game against Monchengladbach.

Do we have the personality to go there against that team with great players and impose our game? I think we did that. So that’s the challenge over the coming seasons, going into Europe. Not to sit and suffer and defend. You know you have to defend.

“But you go into a game to win and get the result – not to not lose the game. That will be about us as a collective.”