David Gray is a smart man and he knows what his Hibs side are in for this weekend.
The Easter Road outfit make the trip to Celtic Park tomorrow afternoon in the Scottish Cup tie where they will face the rampant Hoops who have scored 10 goals in just two matches against Aberdeen and St Mirren respectively.
Celtic are 16 clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership even despite losing 2-1 to Hibs the last time the two clubs faced each other in Leith.
That was a tough afternoon for the leaders who also had a goal disallowed despite officials admitting since that they got the Celtic goal call wrong on the day.
David Gray sounds nervous before Celtic vs Hibs in Scottish Cup
Gray understands how tough playing at Parkhead can be when Brendan Rodgers’ side are really on it and speaking to the Hibs TV channel, the head coach is already sounding beaten as he previewed the fixture.
“That win helps from a belief point of view,” he told Hibs TV when asked about winning against Celts in February. “If you don’t believe we can win the game, then there’s no point in going along the M8. You have to believe you can do it.
“One thing I’ll be saying to the players is that just because we won the last match against them, that doesn’t make this game any easier. History tells you this is a really tough place to go, I think it was 2010 when a Hibs team last went there and won. It’s a real tough test.
“As we’ve done a number of times this season, we’re trying to change history in a positive way.
“At the start of every season, we have the challenge of lifting a trophy, and to do that we have to go to Celtic Park and win.”
Celtic being ‘sore’ at Hibs loss doesn’t bode well for visitors
Celtic’s loss in the capital was a hard one to take after Rangers had also dropped points at home to St Mirren that week.
Extending the lead at the summit of the division would have been nice but wasn’t to be. Daizen Maeda scored to reduce the deficit but his second goal was ruled out for ball out of play before Alistair Johnston crossed it.
That was branded “guess work” by Rodgers who was livid at the call but it never takes long for Celtic to get back on the horse and their two recent victories shows they’ve done just that.
Jeffrey Schlupp admitted this week how the defeat to Hibs was “still sore” and that doesn’t bode well for this weekend’s visitors. A Rodgers team with a grudge, seeking redemption is not to be trifled with, we’d suggest.
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