Celtic manager Martin O'Neill is looking to avoid a fourth successive defeat in the Europa League when the club host Turkish giants Besiktas at Parkhead on Thursday night.

Celtic's record in Europe this season has been nothing short of a disaster, at least since they found themselves 3-0 up in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against LASK.

The Hoops went on to lose 5-1 in the second leg against the Austrian outfit, which saw go from being on the brink of playing Champions League football to instead participating in the Europa League instead.

That might have been a blessing in disguise, aside from the financial side of things, given they have lost all three of their fixtures in the competition to date, including two home games against Ferencvaros and Celta Vigo.

The Bhoys have their third home game of the campaign on Thursday, and after a largely positive run of results after the previous international break, when O'Neill decided to remain in charge despite a 'painful' week that saw them lose twice to Rangers prior, they have hit a sticky patch again.

Celtic have picked up just one point from their previous two Scottish Premiership fixtures against Dundee United and Falkirk, with the latter beating the Glasgow giants for the first time in 19 years last weekend.

The pressure is beginning to build on the Northern Irishman again, despite the fact they are still four points clear at the league summit, albeit Rangers do have a game in hand on their Old Firm rivals.

O'Neill still believes that Celtic can advance in the Europa League, although they are going to have to make a significant improvement against Besiktas compared to their previous outings in the competition if they are to have any chance of achieving that goal.

A fourth successive defeat would ramp up the scrutiny on the 74-year-old, even if some of the replacement options don't appear particularly exciting.

Neil Lennon is the favourite with the bookies to replace O'Neill, in what would be his third managerial spell at Celtic Park, while O'Neill's assistant Shaun Maloney is also fancied.

Celtic could land a major upgrade on both by appointing Wales boss Craig Bellamy though.

Bellamy is currently in his first managerial role of the Wales national team, but he has made a positive impression by winning nine of his 24 matches in charge.

While the 47-year-old tends to use an unremarkable 4-2-3-1 formation, the way he wants his team to play football is something that should catch the attention of Celtic supporters.

Speaking about his desired style previously, Bellamy said:

“We’ve got to go full gas. Like, that ball goes out for a throw-in? Three seconds, get it back in.

“Keep the tempo quick. And I feel like people want to see it, I don’t know. I could be wrong, but that’s what I feel.

We want to see that. We want that, 100 miles-per-hour football. Might not be perfect, but nothing’s ever perfect, anyway.

“But you know when you go and watch something? I don’t know what it’s going to be, but it’s going to be exciting. I’ll go again! I’ll go again, I’ll keep going. That’s what it should be."