"A Dream Come True" says Flood as he talks about his Derby Day Debut.

One thing you do not expect to see is a player becoming glassy eyed!

When Willo Flood stepped out onto the hallowed turf at Celtic Parkon Sunday to make his debut in the most famous Club game in the world he was displaying the emotion of a man whose childhood dream had come true.

Flood said: "Before Sunday I had only ever watched the derby at home on television.

"It was my first experience of the game so to get the nod to start against Rangers was a dream come true for me.

"Just to run out for the warm-up as a Celtic player was almost enough to bring a tear to my eye. It was a great honour to get that chance.

"And the atmosphere was unbelievable. I knew it would be good but I didn't expect the level of noise at the start of the game.

"The place was absolutely bouncing for the first 20 minutes. I remember watching the game on television back home and thinking how good it would be to get the chance to play against Rangers.

"If someone had said to me all those years ago when I was watching Henrik Larsson that I'd be here one day I would have laughed at them.

"I'd have said, 'Listen, I'm not Paul Daniels - I just can't make things happen by magic'.

"But it was for real and it was an absolute dream - an experience I'll treasure for the rest of my life."

Willo's day was made all the more sweeter by the news that his childhood hero Roy Keane was in the Directors box to watch the match. Flood had played against his hero in the Manchester Derby during his time with City and he admits that this game pales into insignifigance when compared with its Glaswegian counterpart.

"I heard that Keano was there and that's great.

"Roy's a true Irishman and real legend back home. It was an honour to play in front of him.

"For me, Sunday was four or five times better than the Manchester derby. It was the best atmosphere I've ever experienced.

"I think the Glasgow derby is more intense than the Manchester one. It seems as if there is a lot more at stake. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's because Manchester United fans tend to look on games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal as their big matches in a season."

Flood also admitted that it was as much of a shock for him to be included in the starting lineup as it was to the Celtic support who fully expected Aiden McGeady to get the nod after his impressive midweek showing for the Republic of Ireland.

Flood said: "It was a big shock for me because I didn't really know where I stood in the manager's plans.

"I've been at Celtic for a few weeks but I wasn't able to be involved in the last few games. I was just hoping to be in the squad. I would have been happy to be on the bench.

"I didn't even have time to tell anybody but looking back that was probably for the best.

"It was a massive boost for me and it's good to know the manager has faith in me and trusts me to play against Rangers."

Willo admitted that he was upset that Scott McDonald missed the guilt edged chance that provided for him with his pinpoint cross in the first half, but he was quick to admonish Skippy for missing the chance. Flood also echoed the sentiments made by many after the match that Rangers were intent on nullifying the game and playing for a draw.

He said: "We dominated the first half and Rangers were there for the taking at that point but we couldn't get the goal.

"If you look at their line-up and formation you could tell they were quite happy to settle for the point.

"They sat back in the first half but we couldn't take advantage of our possession.

"In the second half Rangers came out more and put us under pressure.

They had one deflected shot and a header but Artur Boruc did well for us. He's a top goalkeeper and he showed that.

"When I saw the ball heading for Scott I'd have put my mortgage on him to score. But that's football.

"Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't.

"Scott was the match winner the last time Celtic played Rangers but this time it didn't come off for him.

"It wasn't his day but he has shown he can score goals for Celtic and he'll bang in a lot more in the weeks to come."

So all in all a decent debut for Flood, a player who despite lacking the type of pedigree that Celtic fans generally want in their new signings looks to be a valuable addition to the squad.

Yours in Celtic

Clydebuilt