Rocked by Thursday’s events in Europe, Celtic are now back focusing on domestic matters.
Sunday will see Hibs travel to Celtic Park, hoping to win there for the first time in 16 years.
Martin O’Neill is yet to lose a domestic match in either of his interim Celtic spells this season, but David Gray is fostering some ‘true belief’ that his side can change that.
He said at his pre-match press conference: “I think we’re a team that can be very dangerous.
“I think when you look at the strengths we’ve got, l think we’re much more like ourselves against St Mirren in terms of getting into really dangerous areas.
“I thought we did that, especially getting Nicky into much higher positions and a lot of crosses he put into the box. So, I think we can be a really dangerous side if we play to our capabilities.”
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David Gray’s message on Celtic ahead of Hibs visit
Gray continued: “Celtic are a very good side.
“They are where they are in the league for a reason. Obviously, the experience of the manager, the size of the football club, these are all challenges you need to face.
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“But, as I’ve already said, you need to have the confidence and belief and the desire to go and do it.
“You can’t just go there hoping you’re going to get a result. You need to truly believe it.
“That starts from the first minute right to the very end, however long the game lasts. They’re brilliant games to look forward to if you can go and test yourself against the top side.”
“It’ll be a very big challenge as it always is. History tells you that as well. It’s been a long time since a Hibs team went there and won.
“They’ll be very well organised, they’ve got that mentality to go right to the very end as we’ve seen in recent weeks.
“They’ve signed some new players as well, so they’re going through that period of trying to get players minutes and get them up to speed.”
Gray’s side managed a draw on their last visit to the champions, and Sunday will mark exactly a year since he beat Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops at Easter Road last season.
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Hibs’ last visit to Celtic Park
A lot has changed since Gray last took his side to Glasgow’s East End on September 27th.
The Hoops have since changed manager three times. On the day, Rodgers’ side were unable to break the deadlock with any of their 26 efforts.
Hibees keeper Raphael Sallinger was in inspired form, making a sensational save to prevent Johnny Kenny from winning it late on.
The game was one of Cameron Carter-Vickers’ last starts before suffering an achilles injury that will likely rule him out for the remainder of the season.
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