ANTOINE "Toni" Kombouare is speaking from experience when he describes Paris St Germain as a footballing juggernaut which cannot and will not be stopped until they win the Champions League. Not only is the former Aberdeen defender quoting almost verbatim what the Emir of Qatar told him when he was their first head coach in 2011 but when it comes to this year’s superstar selection he was also afforded the privilege of being the first to be trampled underfoot. Now manager of Ligue 1 side Guingamp, Kombouare was the first domestic manager tasked with stopping Neymar and co on league duty. Considering some of the hidings the big spending capital outfit have handed out since then, he is entitled to feel pretty chuffed with getting away with just a 3-0 defeat.

Celtic, of course, who PSG face in the Parc des Princes this Wednesday night, were on the wrong end of a 5-0 home battering in the Champions League. Anderlecht shipped nine goals over two games, even Bayern Munich conceded three goals without reply. Domestically, draws against Montpelier and Marseille are exceptions amongst a job lot of five-nils, five-ones and six-twos. If this is all a far cry from the days when the experiment was just getting started under Kombouare - who was sacked and replaced by Carlo Ancelotti even with the club top of the table - the really bad news for Celtic is what the 53-year-old determines as a new serious streak about the club, where the likes of Neymar, Edison Cavani and Kylian Mbappe are determined to ruthlessly ram home their advantage in games by extending their personal goal tally.

“How do you stop them?” Kombouare asked. “That is a difficult question. At this moment in time, I don’t know if anybody CAN stop them. They are so strong, physically, mentally. When they start a game, they know – even if some things go wrong along the way – that they still have the strength to win the game. They just know they have the players who can make a difference at any time.

“When we played them with Guingamp it was the first time they had Neymar and it was unbelievable. It was the first time I saw for myself that his level really is the same as Messi. For me, it is still Neymar’s best game for PSG, better even than when they scored six against Toulouse or Bordeaux. And others like Cavani were on the same wavelength. We played maybe our best game against them and at the end it was still 3-0 for them.

“This is a new team, a new set of players, a new mentality. I was the Qataris’ first coach, just when they were starting to build. But that is six or seven years down the line and I feel now they have the quality and the players to win the Champions League this year. There is no chance these owners will stop before that. That is their objective. I know the Emir - I was in Qatar to meet him when I was the coach there and he told me: 'We want the Champions League'. Last year, it was difficult. But now they have Neymar, Cavani and Mbappe which for me is the best attack force in the world, better than Barcelona, better than Real Madrid.”

With his back pages in Scotland, and his past life as a former PSG youth and first team coach, Kombouare takes a keen interest in how this Celtic side are faring in the Champions League, not least Moussa Dembele, who was an aspiring Under-11 or Under-12 player when he left the club. “He is a very good player but he needs now to play more often against the really big teams more regularly,” said Kombouare. “Maybe he needs to move to Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea.”

As impressed as he has been at points by the Parkhead side, he fears the worst for the Scottish champions on Wednesday night – especially if the hosts get an early goal. Although they have already qualified, PSG are shooting for first place and some special Champions League all-time marks: their plus-17 goal difference is already equal with the most in history with two games to play, while no team has got through the group stages without conceding. The loss of wily midfield screener Thiago Motta to a knee injury only offers Celtic the tiniest glimmer of hope.

“I watched the first game, because I know Celtic Park is an unbelievable atmosphere,” he said. “But even when PSG are in difficulties sometimes they can play quickly on the break, or else they put pressure on you high up the park. How will this one go? It depends how the match goes. But if you compare PSG of this year to the one of previous years, now when they score goals and they start to play, they want to score three, four, five, six. Before they were sometimes arrogant, when they were one or two nil up they would try to have fun. Now you see Cavani, he wants three or four goals, Neymar wants to score more goals, Mbappe too. They are very serious!”

If these warring egos collide from time to time, Kombouare doesn’t see any major problem – regardless of the rumours last week that Neymar could jump ship to Real Madrid. “OK, we can see there was that small problem with a penalty, but the players know as a team they are stronger," he said. "There are big stars there, but the likes of Mbappe is still very humble, still learning, and they have experienced players there who make a difference.

“I still think Celtic can get in a good rhythm in Europe though, of course third would be a good result for them from this group. I think the Scottish league is too easy for them, they still need to play more difficult games to get up the pace and rhythm of continental play."