Derek McInnes insists his Kilmarnock side isn’t daunted by the prospect of facing rampant Celtic on Sunday at Rugby Park…
Following a scintillating performance against RB Leipzig on Tuesday night, Brendan Rodgers’ side return to domestic action this weekend at a notoriously tough away venue for the Irishman. Rodgers has suffered many a defeat over his two spells as Celtic boss at Rugby Park which included a 1-0 loss in the Scottish League Cup in August last year, and a miserable 2-1 defeat in the league last December. However, an emphatic 5-0 victory for Celtic the last time the two sides met on the dreadful plastic pitch was the night three in a row was secured.
Celtic’s form has been imperious
Celtic’s form has been imperious domestically thus far, only dropping two points in 10 league matches. It is 12 wins from 13, and a remarkable 43 goals scored during that period across Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup outings.
However, the Hoops could trail Aberdeen who will go top of the table before Celtic kicks off with Kilmarnock should Jimmy Thelin’s Dons recover from their first defeat under the astute Swede’s regime which occurred last Saturday at the of an illustrious Celtic at Hampden Park.
Aberdeen can go 12 points clear of theRangers
Aberdeen faces off against Dundee tomorrow teatime at a packed out Pittodrie. Importantly, Thelin’s men can go 12 clear of theRangers in second place before Phillipe Clement’s side face Hearts at Ibrox on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, the Hoops opposition have been up and down so far in this campaign. Killie’s start to the league season was severely hampered by the turnover of Europa Conference League qualifying games which they competed admirably in. Winless in their first 6 league matches, a first win of the season at Dens Park at the beginning of October was a huge sigh of relief for McInnes.
Kilmarnock’s form has improved after tough start
Since then, the inconsistency levels have been astounding. Victories against theRangers at Rugby Park and then Hearts at Tynecastle were overshadowed by poor displays in Dingwall a fortnight ago, and then Dundee at Dens last Sunday where they relinquished their two-goal lead. Tony Docherty’s men grabbed all three points through a Ziyad Larkeche stoppage time winner.
Subsequently, Kilmarnock have dropped to 8th in the table, and now face the ominous task of facing the Scottish champions. Manager Derek McInnes lavished praise on Celtic heading into the clash this Sunday.
McInnes praises Celtic’s European success
Speaking to the media, the Kilmarnock boss said, “I think they’re clearly improving and I thought there was a maturity about the performance against a top class opponent [RB Leipzig]. It wasn’t so long ago I could hear a fair majority of pundits saying Celtic just can’t match a top Bundesliga team after the Dortmund game – it’s just not possible to do that – and you see that it is.”
“I think from our point of view, we take confidence from the fact that we’ve had some good results against them last season. We have got to try and be the best version of us to get results against Celtic. We’re not daunted by it, we’re in the same league and we’ve got a home fixture against them. It’s up to us to try and make it difficult for them.”
“They’re improving and it’s going to be a huge challenge”
“There’s no doubt that they’re improving and it’s going to be a huge challenge. On the pitch, my players will have to make so many good decisions but first and foremost we have to be confident in ourselves that we can get a result and it’s important that Celtic can see that.”
McInnes explained, “the stadium will be full, it’s live on Sky, it’s the type of game everybody wants to be involved in. We’ve got to try and make it uncomfortable and to do that we need to play well. It’s my job as manager to give my players the best chance to win the game.”
“Our approach won’t be to just sit back and watch Celtic dictate the game. There’ll be times when Celtic’s quality forces that but it’s not through design and in those moments it’s important that we’re comfortable with that.”
The Celtic Star will attend today’s Media Conference at Lennoxtown with Brendan Rodgers and a player ahead of Sunday’s game at Kilmarnock.
Conor Spence
New podcast episode 🚨🎙️https://t.co/LVVpKQNMG8
Celtic author, Matt Corr, speaks about his latest book which covers Celtic in the 1930’s 🍀
Hear some brilliant facts and fascinating anecdotes from Matt by listening in full below ⤵️https://t.co/LVVpKQNMG8 pic.twitter.com/ay8MG3ZthD
— Celtic View (@CelticView) November 5, 2024
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![Celtic in the Thirties]()
- Celtic in the Thirties, Volumes One & Two by Matt Corr – out now on Celtic Star Books.
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![Celtic in the Thirties]()
- Celtic in the Thirties, Volumes One & Two by Matt Corr – out now on Celtic Star Books.
CELTIC IN THE THIRTIES, VOLUMES ONE & TWO BY MATT CORR – OUT NOW! Order your signed copies below…
