Another Sunday and another diddy team to raise their game
By Mikbhoy
Updated Sunday, 2nd November 2008
Celtic get ready to rumble at Tynecastle and it's time for the maroon half of Edinburgh's perennial underachievers to try that wee bit harder than they do against every other team they play. It could be worse, Jim 'Total Football' Jefferies could still be there issuing instructions to maim.....
Champions Celtic will travel to Edinburgh today looking to regain their place three points clear at the top of the SPL table before they concentrate on Wednesday's Champions League Group E clash with
Manchester United at Celtic Park.
When Celtic visit Tynecastle they know it's going to be tough but manager Strachan said "They are all difficult. The Hibs game recently was going to be
difficult and we won. We went to
Kilmarnock, the team that was third in the
league, and we had to play well to win there. It's the same build-up to every
game. At the stadiums we go to, everyone is looking forward to the game."
The Celtic boss knows that every team in the SPL raises their game when the
champions come to town and that's especially true of Hearts "The fans are
looking forward to it, the players are looking forward to it but we have to deal
with that." he said "And we have to deal with teams who are going to try harder against us than they did the previous week because of the atmosphere, the build-up and everything that goes with it. We've never been to Tynecastle where it's not been quick and frantic. We have to be ready for it but, so far, we've done okay."
Ex-Hibee Scott Brown will be a prime target for the Hearts fans today but the
on-form midfielder is wholly intent on enjoying the game "Tynecastle has always been a hard place for me, with Hibs before and now with Celtic. It's always a good atmosphere and Hearts always seem to be up for it. I just relish playing football every week and I'm enjoying my football just now so it's all good."
Brown won the SPL Player of the Month award for October and notched two goals during his great run of form and he's looking to continue at the standard he's set for himself "I've been getting forward a bit more in the last few games and hitting the target. That's always what I want to do." he said "I got a goal against Inverness and against Hibs last weekend which was good."
Scott is also quick to praise the players around him for their part in his on-field displays and his award "The whole team is playing well, it's not just me," the midfielder said. "And you can see that in the last four or five performances we've been scoring goals and creating chances, and that's good for any team."
"The award's not just to do with me, it's to do with the 11 people who go out on the park." he continued "If one person's playing well, that's great, but if we've got 10 or 11 players playing well constantly, that's a bonus. Now we play Hearts on Sunday and we need to see if we can win that game."
