Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk insists that the club belongs in Europe's premier football competition.

The Hoops fly out to Azerbaijan today ahead of the second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round against Qarabag on Wednesday night.

Celtic hold a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg and Dutch defender van Dijk is confident of progressing to the next round.

He said: "We are very close and we have a very good squad with a lot of quality. Hopefully we can secure a Champions League place as Celtic need to be there.

"I have seen Qarabag's results from last year and we will need to be ready. It will be a tough match.

"They have a big stadium that will be full and we need to show everyone where we belong as a club – and that is the Champions League."