Brendan Rodgers believes Celtic will be a Champions League last-16 team in two or three years.
The Hoops take on Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany on Tuesday night looking to add to their solitary Group C point after three fixtures and knowing that realistically a win is needed to have any chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages.
After losing left-back Kieran Tierney last week with ankle ligament damage, they will have to do it without another three key players as Kolo Toure, Jozo Simunovic and Leigh Griffiths missed the trip with a combination of injury, fatigue and illness.
At the pre-match press conference in Telegen, Holland, the Northern Irishman was asked if would expect the Scottish Champions to be a last-16 side in that time period.
"I would hope so yes," he said. "That's the process we're beginning.
"This is what this experience of this competition has given us - the chance to build towards that.
"The huge improvement that's been made domestically is a huge credit to the players and how well they've worked and how hard they've worked. And it's step by step.
"They've arrived into this level, in the toughest group in the competition and of course it's been difficult for them. We don't see it as a threat.
"It's a major challenge for us but it's a great challenge to have.
"Each year we can arrive here we can improve on it and hopefully get to the latter stages consistently.
"Let's see how the next game goes and take it from there."
Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach coach Andre Schubert says everybody knows the importance of the game as his team look to beat Celtic.
"It's going to be a difficult but at the same time a wonderful challenge for us," he said at a press conference on Monday. "None of my players need any extra motivation.
"We want to take control of the game and then see if we can get one, two or three goals."
The Gladbach coach is nevertheless not reading too much into his side's win in Scotland, saying that Celtic are equally dangerous away from home, even if it is they who will face a hostile home crowd at Borussia-Park.
"Celtic are a dangerous team because they have nothing to lose," Schubert said. "They can afford to take risks.
"They have players like (Mousa) Dembele who we need to keep a close eye on. I'm confident, though, that we have the quality in our side to beat them again tomorrow."
The Foals could have Raffael back after he took part in what was a light training session on Monday.
"We didn't do an awful lot in training, but it's great to have Raffael and (Thorgan) Hazard back," he said. "We'll see how they're feeling tomorrow, then decide how big a role they can play in tomorrow's match."