CELTIC were in seventh heaven the last time they squared up to Sunday’s opponents Dundee.
It was a goal feast as the champions obliterated their Tayside rivals 7-1 at Parkhead in late February with players from the hosts queueing up to plant the ball behind the overworked Trevor Carson.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Adam Idah, Matt O’Riley, Daizen Maeda, Greg Taylor and Callum McGregor had all got on the scoresheet before teen midfielder Daniel Kelly, an interval replacement for the skipper, struck a memorable seventh.
It was an evening in the east end of Glasgow that showed the Hoops at their most devastating as they continued to focus of their third successive championship.
ALONE WITH HIS THOUGHTS…Brendan Rodgers at Hampden before the action kicked off.
Now Brendan Rodgers’ men continue the countdown to the crown as they take a three-point advantage into the final five games in an enthralling crescendo to the campaign.
The Northern Irishman accepts it will be a different ball-game at Dens Park at the weekend as he says: “We’ve played very well against Dundee this season.
“For Tony Docherty and his staff and the brilliant job that they’ve done, they’ve shown as a collective the importance of playing as team, working hard for each other and where it can take you.
“There will be other teams that people may feel are better squads than Dundee, but the job Tony’s done there in his first season up in the Premiership has been absolutely brilliant.
“So, we go there and there’s no level of complacency, only respect for a team that’s done very well, and we have to be at the top of our game to get the result.”
THE START OF THE SEVEN-GOAL SPREE…Cameron Carter-Vickers rises high above the Dundee defence to thump in a header in the 7-1 romp in February.
Rodgers, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “There are five games to go in the league, with the next one being absolutely vital.
“So, we will prepare and take the team through the week and layer in the preparation and come out ready to fire on Sunday.
“That’s the expectation. We’re not here on holiday. We’re here to win and we’re here to win in the best fashion that we possibly can.
“That’s always been my mantra. It’s not just about winning, you have to win in the best way possible. We sense that and we feel that as a club and that’s the excitement around it – that everything’s in our hands to achieve what it is we want to achieve, so that’s what we’re focusing on.”
The Hoops gaffer added: “We’re looking no further forward than Dundee. That’s a big game for us, like everyone will be in these six remaining games now, both in the league and in the Cup Final.
“I’m really excited by this whole challenge of finishing the season with a success.
“But it’s each game at a time, keeping the focus on Dundee and not looking anywhere else other than where we can exploit Dundee and where we can use our strengths to win the game.”
This will be the fourth time the teams have clashed in this crusade. Goals from David Turnbull (pen), Kyogo Furuhashi and O’Riley gave the hosts a 3-0 home win in September.
And Rodgers’ men replicated that scoreline on Tayside on Boxing Day when Paul Bernardo claimed his first goal for the club and West Brom-bound Mikey Johnston netted a double, his first strikes for the club in over four years.
