PEP GUARDIOLA is not a man who knows his history when it comes to Celtic.

But the Manchester City manager has been well informed of what sort of electric atmosphere he will experience when he steps into the away dug out at Parkhead tonight.

Despite Celtic frequently being paired with Barcelona in European competition over recent years, the former Nou Camp supremo will take charge of a team at Paradise for the first time this evening as English giants city come to Glasgow on Champions League match day No.2.

The Spaniard only arrived at the Etihad in the summer after previously being in charge at Bayern Munich, and speaking at Parkhead last night, revealed he has leaned on the knowledge of some of his former colleagues about what to expect.

“This is my first time here in Glasgow to play Celtic,” said Guardiola. “All the people have spoken to me about the atmosphere and I am looking forward to the experience.

“I have heard many things about Celtic Park.

“I know their results here and how strong Celtic are here. They lost two or three games in the last 30 years.

“The last two times Barcelona were here, they won one and lost one.

“I spoke with my old players and they told me of a special stadium, for the environment with the fans, for the way they play.

“It’s a big challenge for us to know what our level is in Europe, away from home.”

“I came here to play golf, but not for football.

“I spoke with some players who played here, others in Bayern Munich who played here.

“If you aware of that and focused on your big challenge, I am confident, of course, in what we have to do.”

While Celtic have got off to a flier in the Ladbrokes Premiership, City have been in scintillating form south of the border.

A victory against the Hoops this evening will take them to 11 wins on the spin, equalling an English league record.

It is a prospect Guardiola is aware of, but one he is paying little attention to as he looks at the bigger picture of last 16 qualification in the Champions League.

He said: “Winning helps you to win more. It helps your development and your way to play.

“Every game starts at zero and I’m not focused or concerned about records. In the future, another team will win 12, 13 and 14 games in a row.

“What I want is to play well, to continue with what we did in the last months.

‘Many things we have done really well, continue. The aspects we have to improve, do it.

“Football is a process. The special for a coach is seeing the team get better.”

Guardiola watched footage of Celtic being thrashed 7-0 in the opening day by Barcelona at the Nou Camp. However, he is not reading anything into that result, instead showing sympathy and caution towards their hosts.

“I agree with what Brendan [Rodgers] said before,” he said. “Many teams suffer what happened to them in Barcelona.

“I know what it means when Barcelona start quick. Celtic miss a penalty and then 2-0 and 3-0.

“Mentally, the players are a little bit absent with everything that has happened.

“Barcelona can score goals in five minutes. But this is here. And it will be completely different.”