CALLUM MCGREGOR insists Celtic are ready to take the fight to Paris St Germain when they open their Champions League campaign against the French giants next week.
Big-spending PSG will bring their star-studded line-up to Parkhead next Tuesday and McGregor admits he will have to pinch himself before going up against the likes of £200.6million man Neymar.
But the midfielder insists Brendan Rodgers’ team have no intention of letting the Parisians simply roll over them.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a massive game and the start of the Champions League proper. There will be a lot of big teams coming to Celtic Park and a lot of big nights.
“You look at PSG’s squad and there is a mountain of talent – and big price tags, too.
“So it’s a great for us to test ourselves at this level.
“It’s tough facing someone like Neymar, everybody knows he’s a top player. He can go inside or outside and it can be hard for defenders to read what he’s going to do.
“He’s come with a big price tag, but he’s started really well for PSG so will be coming here full of confidence.
“I think when you step back and take a look at it, you do have to sometimes pinch yourself that you’re playing against these kind of players.
“When the game comes around on Tuesday we will show these guys respect.
“But at the same time we’re on the pitch too and deserve to be there, so we need to show our talent.
“We’ll have a game plan to impose ourselves on the match, we won’t just be standing back watching them.”
The showdown will also see Celtic skipper Scott Brown reacquaint himself with former Barcelona forward Neymar.
The pair were involved in a controversial incident that saw Brown sent off for flicking out a leg at the Brazilian during a Champions League clash in 2013.
McGregor admits sparks could fly again but backed his captain to keep his temper in check this time.
He said: “I think there might be some fireworks there but ‘Broony’ is normally really composed in the big games.
“That’s a part of his game that has come right on. He’s got that experience having played in loads of big games for us and I’m sure the boys will be looking for him to guide us through it.”
McGregor was speaking at the Topps SPFL Match Attax 2017-18 trading card event.
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