BRENDAN RODGERS and his Celtic player don’t expect a warm welcome in the Highlands this afternoon.
The champions travel to the frozen north to lock horns against dangerous opponents in Ross County in Dingwall in an encounter where a win can send the Hoops scorching to an EIGHTEEN point advantage at the opf the Premiership.
Rodgers is aware of the dangers that lie ahead against an in-form side who have won their past two games plus his team will be performing on a pitch that can be unpredictable, especially in chilly conditions.
Don Cowie’s men made it extremely difficult for the Parkhead side in October and it took two late goals from Alistair Johnston and Nicolas Kuhn to give the visitors a hard-fought 2-1 triumph as they continued their quest for a fourth successive title.
THE EQUALISER…Alistair Johnston celebrates putting Celtic level with Callum McGregor, Auston Trusty and Liam Scales about to congratulate the marksman.
Preparing for another stiff challenge, Rodgers said: “They are always tough games and, if you look at Don and his team, they’ve produced some fantastic results of late.
“They are only a few points off the top six, so they’ve gone on a nice little consistent run. They will be hard to beat – and the pitch won’t be perfect.
“They defend very well, they play a five-diamond-one, so lots of bodies behind the ball and they will make it difficult, so we have to use the speed in our game as a quality to hopefully break through that.”
Rodgers, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “In these games at this time of the year, there are no points for style.
“We always want to go and play and win in the best way we possibly can, that’s always the nature of our game.
“But, ultimately, this will be about resilience, mentality and getting through the tough moments in the game and looking to be as attack-minded as we can possibly be.”
THE WINNER…Nicolas Kuhn celebrates the late points-clincher in October.
Rodgers also piled praise upon his performers as they have racked up the points and the Irishman added: “The points’ gap is there because we’ve been so consistent, that’s the reality of it.
“Whatever points another team gets, I can look at ourselves and know that the consistency of this team has been very, very good.
“And when you have that consistency, then in a competition that can be a big advantage – that resilience, that mentality, that focus in order to get those results that allow you to build that gap.
“We just have to keep churning out the results and the performances. The consistency the players have shown is a great testament to them because that can get overlooked.
“But this group, their mentality and the club as a whole, and consistently how they keep going, it’s really good – and we want to keep doing that.”
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report and best action images from Ross County v Celtic this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.
