IT is estimated that close to 10,000 Celtic fans will head to Spain today and tomorrow all with the same thought.

Let’s have a party as this is the last trip aboard until next season.

Sure, once a few cervezas are downed, there are going to be a few, there always is and it tends to be the same folk, who convince the part of the brain still working that something quite mental just might happen.

Celtic are 2-0 down to a team from Spain who once they got going in the first-leg last Thursday in Glasgow looked several levels above the Scottish champions who were the perfect hosts in that they made the night a lot easier than it should have been for their guests.

If Bobby Murdoch, Kenny Dalglish and Henrik Larsson were on the team plane then more punters would feel as if their few days away in Spain would be remembered for a famous European night – not just a right good kick at the ball in another sense.

However, the Celtic manager has a feeling his team have it in them to, at the very least, give Valencia a scare in their hostile wonderful Mestalla home.

“The first goal in this game will be important,” Rodgers told Celtic’s official website. “If we can get the first goal in the game, we don’t need to go flying in after that. We just need to settle ourselves into the game and find our confidence.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game. You can see the level that they’re at and the investment, everything is there to see that they’re an outstanding team.

“We have to go there with the belief and confidence that we can get a result. No matter how tough, we’ll go there and if we can get the first goal it can open things up for us.”

Jeremy Toljan is German and therefore always expects to win football games no matter how sticky the situation.

The key for Celtic, it always has been, is not to make silly mistakes, to pass the ball and play on the front foot.

“We were up against a strong side but we still have the second leg to come and we can play a little better and achieve a better result over there,” said Toljan.

“Personally, I haven’t been in the position before where my team was able to turn things round after a first result like this one but maybe this is the time. Hopefully, we can go there and score an early goal, which will give us a chance.

“We started that game very well but if you make basic mistakes at this level then it can cost you. In Spain we need to cut out the errors and also improve our play.

“I genuinely believe that we can score against them and, with a little bit of luck, we can turn the tables on them. Our game plan was fine last week and we were very good for the opening 20 minutes and we could even have opened the scoring.

“Like I say, though, mistakes against a side as good as they were will cost you the game. It was an open game but they didn’t cut us open or have many chances.

“However, if we score first at the Mestalla then we will see what happens. If we can do that then maybe that will affect them mentally and they will start to think about what might happen next because you never know in football. We will go there in a positive frame of mind and try to win.

“They might think that they are already through to the next round but we can maybe get inside their heads with a good start.”

“It will be my first time in that stadium and it would be a big result if we could somehow could go through. As we say in Germany, hope never dies so we’ll go there with the right attitude and try to beat them. Miracles happen.”