The first match between Celtic and Manchester City in this season’s Champions League provided former Scotland striker Paul Dickov with something of a dilemma.

A lifelong Hoops fan and a legend at City, Dickov’s loyalties were torn going into the match, fearing what might happen to his beloved Celtic at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s superstars.

He needn’t have worried. Brendan Rodger’s men stood tall on the night, producing a heroic performance to claim a deserved draw in a six-goal thriller in Glasgow.

It was an evening that starkly highlighted what Celtic had been missing during their absence from Europe’s premier club competition, and also what the competition had been missing amid a shining example of the storied atmosphere of Celtic Park on a big European night.

Unfortunately, the rest of the campaign failed to match the highs of that evening for Celtic, and as they bow out of the competition in the return fixture tomorrow evening, Dickov foresees another lesson being dealt out to his boyhood heroes away from the comforts of home.

“I watched the first game and it certainly raised a few eyebrows down south,” Dickov said. “European nights at Celtic Park are fantastic. I’m doing quite a lot of work with City now on the ambassadorial side of things and I said to a fair few of them that they would never have experienced anything like it. They just laughed and shrugged it off. But then they played the game and they’re still talking about it now.

“I didn’t know who I wanted to win because it’s my two teams. It was great to see and I think it was a great advert for Scottish football. I think it’ll be difficult for Celtic with that advantage taken away, and because City have shown that on their day they can beat anyone. They beat Barcelona after all.

“With the squad they’ve got and the manager they’ve got, anything’s possible for them. I’ve been lucky enough to see the majority of their games this year. Recently they’ve had a couple of draws but I’ve never seen anything like some of the football they’ve played.

“I was proud to see that Scottish resistance. It was brilliant. I cheered all six goals! It was brilliant to watch – just two teams going at it, which you don’t often see. I thought it was great. I feared for Celtic before the game because City were on fire. They’d won all their games. All credit to Brendan and his team because they gave it a right good go. It was a great spectacle and was great for Scottish football.”

Without being disparaging towards Dickov, it is unlikely that he would have been such a mainstay in the current City side as he was in his nineties heyday.

The club has completely transformed since Sheikh Mansour’s millions began pouring into the coffers in 2008, putting them into a different stratosphere from Celtic in terms of the level of player they can attract.

Indeed, Dickov feels that their ambitions should extend all the way to lifting the trophy, whether that is this season or in the near future.

“It feels like a completely different club from the one I was involved in,” he said. “The kids are big City fans because I was there when they were being brought up. The fans sing ‘where were you when we were sh*t?’ I know where I was – I was playing!

“I’m delighted. The owners have to take a lot of credit. It’s easy to talk about the money they’ve chucked at it, to say they’ve bought the league. But the majority of the people who I first worked with behind the scenes back in 1995/96 are still there.

“They’ve made sure to keep hold of people like that and look after them. That kind of thing doesn’t always get publicity. As much as they want to be the biggest and best, they’ve kept the core and the soul of the club intact. I think they should get a lot of credit for that.

“The Champions League has to be the main target,” he added. “When the owners came in they stated that. It’s been no secret.

“I do think Pep’s taken them on to another level, whether they win it this year or not. It’s going to be difficult, but if City can keep Aguero, Silva and De Bruyne fit then they can do it.”