Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes is hoping his side can use their home advantage to help stifle Ange Postecoglou and Celtic this weekend.
The Bhoys travel to Rugby Park for the first time in over 17 months, after the Ayrshire side spent last campaign in the Scottish Championship.
However, it was McInnes, who has plenty of Scottish Football experience with the likes of St Johnstone and Aberdeen, helped fire Killie straight back to the top flight at the first attempt.
Kilmarnock have faced a tough start to the season, picking up a point from their first league outing against Dundee United before travelling to Ibrox last weekend.
They now face another difficult test as Scottish Premiership holders Celtic prepare to make the trip to Rugby Park, hoping to continue their perfect start to the season.
Speaking to the press ahead of Sunday afternoon’s game, McInnes admitted that his side face a challenging 90 minutes with the quality Ange Postecoglou’s side possesses.
However, he is hoping his team can use the home crowd to their advantage in an attempt to stifle and frustrate the Hoops.
He said [West FM]: “We expect Celtic to apply pressure; they’ve got good attacking players. But it’s important for us that it’s not a 90-minute game like that.
“We’ve got to try, and like I said in the first couple of questions, give them something to think about, let them know it’s not going to be all their own way.
“And if we can strike that first blow, plant that seed of doubt, then that goes a long way not only for us being really confident in our work but also maybe affecting them. They are good players, and we have to find a way to stop them from being good.”
He continued: “I think here (at Rugby Park), while we still want to frustrate when we are out of possession, I think we’ve got to try and show a bit more of ourselves in possession from the outset and having the majority of the crowd in the ground being Kilmarnock orientated, we’ve got to try and tap into that.
“We’ve got to give them something to try and give them that encouragement and the players have got to give themselves encouragement as well. We’ve got to try and be as positive as we can with the team selection.
“That balance between attacking and defending is always the fine balance us managers have when you play against teams who have got better players.
“Clearly, Rangers and Celtic are going to fight it out for the title; we’ve got different agendas this season, and our objectives are different. But we still feel we can land a few blows.”
Celtic’s trip to Kilmarnock will once again be a marker of how far Ange Postecoglou has brought his side.
As mentioned, Celtic’s last trip to Rugby Park came in the 2020/21 campaign. That season, the Bhoys came away with four points from their two visits to the Premiership strugglers of that year.
In season’s gone by, Rugby Park hasn’t been the easiest of places for Celtic to pick up all three points, suffering some disappointing results during Steve Clarke’s tenure as Killie boss.
However, a lot has changed since our last game at the Ayrshire ground, which ultimately ended in victory for Neil Lennon and his players.
Ange Postecoglou has since rejuvenated and rebuilt his squad, taking the club to a league and cup double during his first 12 months in the dugout.
I am sure Derek McInnes will set up his side to make it a potentially frustrating afternoon for the Hoops. However, it could prove to be another marker of how far the 56-year-old has taken this side, should they come away with another comprehensive victory.
In other news, Pierre van Hooijdonk details the player he believes can be used to ‘good effect’ in the UCL.
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