Celtic defender Greg Taylor has insisted his team can thrive under the pressure of Wednesday night’s derby. In fact, he thinks they’ll enjoy it.
Celtic host Rangers under the lights at Paradise in two days time for the chance to go top of the Scottish Premiership.
Having manoeuvred themselves into a brilliant position, just one victory is now needed to emerge as frontrunners in the title race after months of being written off.
There’s no doubt it’s a huge occasion, with huge expectations on the shoulders of every Celtic player. However, Taylor thinks they can rise to the occasion and continue stringing good results together.
Speaking to The Scottish Daily Mail [31/01 print edition, page 66], he said: “We just play our football, take each game as it comes and try not to waste any opportunities.
“You feel pressure with every game at a club like this because of the demands made on it, but pressure creates diamonds, doesn’t it? If we put on a good performance, then we’ll enjoy the pressure.
“We don’t really look at league tables, we just focus on what the manager wants us to do. If we play the football we can, results will take care of themselves and we will see where we are at the end of the season.”
Taylor is likely to start the encounter on the left flank. Ange Postecoglou has trusted him implicitly this season, despite criticism from supporters.
Wednesday night may well not be about individuals anyway. It’ll be a collective effort to harness the atmosphere of the occasion and react to the unexpected. As always in this derby.
After a disappointing showing at Ibrox, we’re about to find out if Ange Postecoglou’s much-changed Celtic side can take his inspirational messages on board and deliver the biggest result of the season so far.
In other news, Report: Kilmarnock can’t sign Celtic talent Adam Montgomery until they shift players on.
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