Celtic v Man City: Guardiola says Champions League progress, not record, is goal

Pep Guardiola is looking forward to the atmosphere at Celtic Park

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has dismissed the significance of the club chasing a record 11th straight victory at the beginning of a season.

City can equal the record set by Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the 1960-61 season by defeating Celtic.

Guardiola is more concerned with making progress in Champions League Group C.

"Believe me, I'm not focused on this little record, because another team will come and beat the record in the future," the Spaniard said.

"What I want is to play good, to continue what we did in the last months, many things we did really well and aspects we can improve [and] do it to win the game.

"My happiness as a coach is to see the team getting better. Every game is hard. A win helps to win more. Confidence is a real aspect for our development and how we want to play."

Guardiola says he expects a very different Celtic performance on Wednesday to the one that ended with a 7-0 defeat away to Barcelona in the opening round of fixtures.

Manchester City have arrived in Glasgow in a run of fine form

The City manager watched the Old Firm game, which Celtic won 5-1 at Celtic Park, and he believes Brendan Rodgers' side will play with the intensity and drive they showed against their Glasgow rivals.

"I saw the game against Rangers here how intensive they were," Guardiola said. "It was completely different to the way they were in Barcelona, where they were more passive.

"Against Rangers, it was so aggressive, high, high pressing and that is the game we're going to expect tomorrow night.

"I know Celtic here are so strong. I spoke with my old players and all of them said it's a special stadium, for the environment, the fans, the way they play. It's a good challenge for us to know our level in Europe away.

"What happened in Barcelona is not the most important thing tomorrow. This is two weeks ago - professional players when you win, the day after, two days after you have another game and you are focused on that. When you lose, it's the same situation.

"[It is a] big opportunity to make a huge step forward for our qualification. I am confident, of course, in what we have to do."