As tests go, there will be an examination this evening at Celtic Park that will be far more intense than anything else Brendan Rodgers’ side have experienced since the turn of the year.

The Parkhead side look like a team gathering some momentum since their return from the mid-winter break. The stats since January are impressive; seven played, 21 scored and zero conceded but it is one thing to turn it on against the likes of Airdrie and St Johnstone, another entirely to do it in a European context.

And while Celtic’s record in a domestic sense is unblemished under Rodgers, there have been bruising encounters in the Champions League. If the Europa League is regarded as the poor relation, the teams who are currently inhabiting the tournament are more than capable of offering a sobering reality check.

Not that Rodgers is overly concerned.

The Celtic manager has spoken often of his disdain for a pragmatic approach to any game and he has maintained that the Parkhead side will go into the game with the belief that they can take something from their first leg encounter against the La Liga side.

“This is a challenge for us,” said Rodgers. “I said to the players this morning ‘Listen, we are playing against a good team, everyone recognises that - but let’s not forget we’re a good team as well.

“That’s why we are at this stage of the competition. We are through on merit. We had good teams in our group and we qualified. We deserve it. So let’s go and attack the game and enjoy it.

“You only have to look at them. Valencia is a club I know well. They have a great history and there is always a demand to do well.

“They have very good players and some of their recent results tell you everything about the level they are at.

“But it’s an opportunity for us. I never see a good team as an obstacle. No matter how good they are or how much money they have, they can’t put 12 players out there. It’s 11 v 11 and we have to everything we can to get a result.

“The longer we are together, the more experience the players are getting. Hopefully we can really enjoy it tomorrow.”

The Parkhead side made it to the UEFA Cup final under Martin O’Neill in 2003 and while Rodgers is appreciative of just how much the landscape has changed, his own ambitions remain.

“We’re a decade on now and the climate here at Celtic, and at Rangers, is totally different,” he said. “ It really is. It’s a different level and a different benchmark.

“You always have to believe you can.

“I think if you look at the teams in it, there’s a real array of top teams. The competition gets stronger each year because now there is a real onus on it where you can quality for the Champions League.

“Because of that there is a real hunger there for teams to do well in it.

“But you always have to go in and do the very best you possibly can, that’s the idea. And that’s what we’ll always believe.”

There is an interesting question, then on just what would constitute success for Celtic in this tournament.

“I haven’t thought,” said Rodgers.

“I think we have done really well coming out the group stage and now we are in against a good side.

“I would hate to say getting past Valencia is a measure of success because then you have another round.

“Why can’t you, you know? You always have to believe that you can win every game you play.

“When it finishes, whenever that is, then you can assess it and look at it. But I wouldn’t like to sit now and say what success is.”

Celtic’s most recent financial figures revealed a healthy bank balance, albeit that the lack of Champions League participation was felt this season. This week’s news that the club have £38m raised a few eyebrows, given the fractious summer in which Rodgers seemed irked at Celtic’s lack of spending.

The Celtic manager was far more composed yesterday as compared to the terse times in August but there will be an interesting addendum tonight with the expected appearance of Cristian Piccini. The 26-year-old Italian was signed from Sporting Lisbon in a deal estimated to be around £7m, but Celtic had been keen to sign the fullback.

It collapsed at the latter stages of negotiations with the right-back opting for Valencia instead, with the pull of La Liga coming into play. Still, Celtic’s current wage bill sits at just under £60m, a factor that might suggest the note of tension that underpinned the summer window.

Asked about the club’s profit yesterday, Rodgers was reluctant to reignite an old issue although his distance from the subject also could be noted.

“It doesn’t do either or really,” he said when questioned as to whether the financial figures were pleasing or frustrating.

“I have loved my time here, my job is to develop players and add value and win, because that’s the vision you need to have as a Celtic manager. When I came into here a few years ago the stands were not full and over the last two and a half years we all collectively have put the club in a really good position.

“They are in the black, which is great. In modern football that can be tough.

“There is great value in the squad and of course I always want the best possible players we can possibly get and I’ve always pushed, but I have to respect the situation the club is in.

“But in every way the club is in a healthy position and of course that makes me happy.”

How they are faring on the pitch will be clearer tonight.