Celtic academy graduate Michael Gardyne is eyeing up a shock win over the Hoops with Ross County on Sunday.
Gardyne never managed to make a single appearance for Celtic. After playing for a couple of years in our reserve side, he made a loan move to County. Fast forward 12 years and five moves later, the winger now finds himself back in Dingwall for the third time in his career.
He’s arguably the main threat to Celtic this Sunday. Gardyne may only have four assists and no goals to his name this season (Transfermarkt), but he’s one of the most direct players in County’s side. When he gets the ball, more often than not he’ll take his man on. There’s never any fear from him.
And it appears he’s got some extra motivation to shoot us down this weekend. Speaking in the Press and Journal, Gardyne spoke about the point his side needs to prove.
“We probably have a point to prove to ourselves. I don’t think we are judged on games against Celtic and Rangers from the press or the fans, but in the dressing room we will always judge ourselves.
“We are the ones that go out on the pitch, and to get beaten 5-0 or 6-0 does not sit well – even if it is a Celtic or Rangers. We want to go out there and put on a good showing for ourselves and for the fans. It’s for that personal pride almost.
“We’re playing Celtic who are flying, in front of a full house on the television. These are the games we want to play in, these are the players we want to test ourselves against.Against the biggest teams in Scotland, what more do you need to play for?”
Celtic must be wary of reaction to October rout
It’s easy to dismiss this game on Sunday as an easy three points. After all, County haven’t won any of their last games, and they were also the victims of a 6-0 hammering off Celtic last month.
However, we really need to be wary of the reaction to that game in particular. County had been going fine up until that result. Since then, they’ve conceded a pretty staggering 13 goals in their last five matches. Going forward, they’ve netted only six in that same run of games. Before the Parkhead clash, they were unbeaten in four.
Celtic coming to town on Sunday could easily be seen as a mismatch, and if we turn up then it definitely will be. Nobody can even debate the difference in quality between the two sides.
But if we aren’t on it, County still have some quality in there that can pose us some issues. The physical threat of Brian Graham could give Christopher Jullien another decent test. The likes of Gardyne and Josh Mullin, meanwhile, both have the ability to get some good crosses into the box if we let them get any joy down the flanks.
Taking that 6-0 hammering into account and combining it with the fact it’s on live TV, we need to expect County to be up for this.
Gardyne’s comments really describe a dressing room that’s itching to make their mark and show they can compete in this division. The aggression and determination that can stem from that can’t be underestimated. Hopefully, the Bhoys take all this into account and do a professional job on Sunday.
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