Should he care to admit to any feelings of trepidation ahead of tomorrow night’s game against Paris-Saint Germain, Craig Gordon would surely be forgiven them.

After all, the last man in the firing line against a team who strengthened their forward line by spending £366m this summer, will surely expect one of the most testing evenings of his career.

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe combined with Edinson Cavani and Julian Draxler proved a formidable quartet on Friday evening as they ramped up their preparation for the Champions League by thumping Metz 5-1.

For Gordon, though, there is no sense of stage fright.

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“I don’t feel any fear at all,” said the Celtic keeper. “Not at all. You have to look at what you’ve got and we will also have a game plan too about what we want to do and the way we will want to play against them. That isn’t to say that we will always be able to do it but we will have a strong idea of how we want to play and we’ll do our utmost to execute that.

“We won’t have as much as the ball as what we are used to. We’ll set up slightly differently because of that and as a goalkeeper you expect that you are going to be busy on a night like this. It doesn’t always turn out that way but certainly we will be prepared for that.”

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There is a certain kind of alchemy when Celtic and the Champions League come together at Celtic Park but although it can inspire to great performances and great occasions, it would be wrong to dismiss the difficulties faced when going up against teams with up serious financial weight behind them.

If this summer illustrated anything it is just how massive the chasm is between Celtic and those at the top tiers of European football. Competing against that level and those resources is increasingly tough.

And yet, historically there has always been an ability of the Parkhead club to rise to the fore.

Last season there was much to admire in their debut Champions League campaign with Brendan Rodgers at the helm, with the pulsating draw against Manchester City, a City team who had been sweeping all before them in the Premiership prior to their jaunt up to Glasgow, the highlight.

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However, there was a sobering realisation, too, at the end of the campaign when Celtic had not won a game and had leaked 16 goals. Of course, the opening 7-0 gubbing in the Nou Camp contributed greatly to that tally and it will be interesting to see just how they have progressed as a team since then.

One major problem, though, is the paucity of fit and natural central defenders. Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko have resumed training but will not be fit in time, leaving only Jozo Simunovic as the only fit defender.

“It is going to be a difficult game and we have obviously had a few guys out with injuries which is unfortunate,” said Gordon. “But I do think that we have guys who can go in there and do a job if they need to and all we can do is work as hard as we can on trying to get something out of the game.

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“You would obviously want to have your strongest squad available as you start off your Champions League campaign, but there is no point in losing sleep about the fact that we don’t. There is a plan and there is a way to deal with that and we just need to get on with it.”

It is the sense of togetherness that Gordon believes Celtic will need to utilise if they are to come out of the game without having suffered serious damage.

Rodgers has been open about his philosophy of his teams playing a certain way and looking to be aggressive on the ball both in attack and defence. His side will be exposed to a far different game this evening than they are at domestic level but Gordon insists there in no negativity in the Hoops camp before it.

Neil Lennon’s Celtic side famously beat Barcelona at Celtic Park as the club celebrated their 125th anniversary and the Hoops goalkeeper is focused on the vagaries that can happen in football.

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“Anything is possible in a one off game,” he said. “We have a fabulous togetherness about our squad, we have good players of our own and we have to look upon this as an opportunity to go out and enjoy it. Of course, we are all well aware that one slip-up, one moment where you lose concentration can be costly and at this level, the very top level, there is a mental aspect to the game that you need. You are concentrating every second.

“But in any game, you have a chance. We won’t walk out feeling afraid or feeling that we have no chance. It isn’t the way we go about things. I am not making any bold predictions but I do think that we well feel confident and ready to compete.”