GIVE THEM A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY

McGregor says Celtic will force French back just like they did to Pep

TWENTY-TWO years may have passed since Paris SaintGermain were last in the East End of Glasgow — but for Celtic there is a pervading sense that something rather familiar is about to unfold.

Some 500 miles may separate Paris from Manchester yet the modernday parallels between two sporting institutions rooted in those respective cities are not hard to identify.

When the blue half of Manchester came to town last September, few gave Brendan Rodgers’ men a chance against a side bankrolled from Abu Dhabi.

In the end, the 10-game winning streak of Pep Guardiola’s side came to a surprising and spectacular conclusion — six goals were shared between the sides as Celtic reminded the world that money does not yet buy you everything in this life.

One year on, PSG, effectively now Qatar’s pet team, are packing their bags on the back of a spending spree that makes City’s indulgences miserly by comparison.

Neymar from Barcelona for £198million. Kylian Mbappe from Monaco for, an eventual, £166m price tag. Even without the injured Angel di Maria, it represents the kind of attacking intent to induce panic and insomnia in defenders.

For Callum McGregor, though, such an arsenal only has to be handled correctly. Against City last year, Celtic knew that defending for 90 minutes would be futile. Accordingly, they picked their moments to attack with menace.

When Unai Emery’s men take the field on Tuesday, they should expect a similar test of defensive mettle.

Asked if fighting fire with fire was the only credible game plan, the Celtic midfielder replied: ‘Everyone is full of belief that we can go and attack them.

‘Before the Man City match last season, they had won 10 games, yet came to Celtic Park and found it to be a totally different game.

‘We got after them and created loads of chances. I’m sure we can go toe to toe with these teams when they come to Celtic Park.’

A positive mindset is one thing. Sounding the bugle for a cavalry charge is quite another.

As much as Celtic cannot sit deep and be picked off by the free-scoring French, nor can they naively commit numbers forward at will. Playing with the foot pressed to the floor for 90 minutes is liable to end badly.

‘It’s great for us that we are coming up against players like that and teams like PSG who are setting the bar,’ added McGregor (right).

‘The amount of money spent has been ridiculous but that’s the market now.

‘The value of their team is incredible. You saw last year in the Champions League that they blew Barcelona away at home and that shows the quality.

‘We need to be ready and come up with a game plan to stifle it.’

The 4-0 now hiding of the Catalans in the Parc des Princes is, of course, only one half of the equation.

In losing the second leg of that last-16 tie in the Nou Camp 6-1, PSG became the first team in European football to surrender such a lead.

If the subsequent arrivals have bolstered their squad to a frightening degree, McGregor feels that result proves they are not impregnable.

‘That does give you hope,’ he said. ‘You never know what team is going to show up at Celtic Park.

‘We can try to get after them and if they are not quite at it, we might get a result.

‘It’s obvious that these boys are top, top players. You can see that when you play against them. There’s that wee shift and they are two steps ahead of everyone else.

‘But our players won’t be fazed by it. You have obviously got to respect the opponent but when the games comes around it won’t be a case of respecting them too much.

‘You want to press, get after them and show how good you are.

‘You are at that stage for a reason. We deserve to be there. We’ve got to impose ourselves on the game.’

On the opening night of last year’s campaign, Celtic were posted missing.

If the seven goals without reply Barcelona rammed home were not hurtful enough, the fact Rodgers’ men committed just three fouls rubbed salt into the gaping wounds.

‘It will be a different story in terms of us getting closer to PSG this time,’ explained McGregor.

‘Barca played really well on the night. You saw PSG going there later in the competition and they got hammered as well. ‘We were caught cold that night. We never pressed or got up and made tackles. ‘We’ve had the experience of the big games and we’ll be better equipped now.’ The smart money is on Celtic and Anderlecht facing off on December 5 for a spot in the Europa League. Privately, many would accept that kind of outcome.

For now, though, dreaming is free. ‘We’re not there to make up the numbers,’ insisted McGregor. ‘Some people might see the big names think: “We’ll take third”. ‘But we know exactly what we need to do. It’s a case of preparing properly and seeing how far we can go in the group.’