Celtic: The View From the Opposition

It's been a while since we last took on Celtic so there is no better time to catch up with Focus On Celtic to hear what they had to say.

After taking a 1-0 lead to Russia, Celtic would be eliminated 3-1 on aggregate in the Europa League. No doubt you would be disappointed in the exit for the competition but was it much of a surprise considering Celtics away form on the continent?

Celtic don’t have a great record on the road in Europe, so the result wasn’t a surprise in that sense. What has surprised the fans is that the same line up that beat Zenit could play so badly the next week. Each goal came from individual errors too. 

You bounced back with a victory over Aberdeen and even managed to double your lead while down to ten-men. A defeat here would have made the top of the table a bit more compact so it must have been a bit of a relief to keep the nine-point gap?

A relief might be a bit strong. I was already comfortable that we could win the league, especially with the European distraction out of the way, but it was nice to bounce back with a good win, even if it wasn’t pretty at times. 

The big talking point this transfer window involved both clubs and Jack Hendry. It went down to the wire but the transfer that involved Scott Bain, Scott Allan, Simon Murray and Jack Hendry went through with minutes to go. Were you happy with the purchase? Dundee fans were ultimately disappointed but when you consider he had only been with us for 6 months, I guess the club couldn’t turn down that type of money.

He’s been handed the No.4 shirt so Rodgers clearly thinks he will be a mainstay in the defence. How has he played so far?

I have seen very little of Hendry to be honest. I have seen him play in perhaps two Dundee games that weren’t against Celtic. From what I have seen he is comfortable on the ball, but could probably learn a lot with an experienced head next to him. I think he’ll be on the fringes of the first team for the rest of the season, but he’ll play a big part next season. Rodgers clearly rates him, and identified him as a target fairly early on, so I’m not sure why it took until the last few hours of the window to sign him. 

The treble is still very much. How confident are you that Rodgers can make it another clean sweep this season?

On paper Celtic are in with a very good chance of winning the treble, and I’m quietly confident of doing that. Trebles are very difficult though, and not many have been won, so I’m not counting my chickens. Celtic are more than capable of an off day this season, but I’m hoping that no more European football this season means less rotation, and more of a settled side. 

Dundee will visit Parkhead with only one defeat on the road since the end of December. Can we come away with a result on Wednesday or will Celtic prove to be too much for the Dark Blues?

Dundee Played very well at Celtic Park last time out and could have nicked a point if it wasn’t for de Vries. I expect Dundee to be very disciplined and will try and contain Celtic, then perhaps try and nick a goal from a set piece or counter-attack. I just think that Celtic will have too much for you, so I’m going for a 2-0 Celtic win.