TRIUMPHS and Tannadice have been going hand in hand since Ange Postecoglou took charge of Celtic.
The Hoops had three visits to the home of Dundee United last season and had reason to celebrate on a hat-trick of occasions.
Postecoglou had his first look at the venue on December 5 2021 when the visitors won 3-0 and Tom Rogic claimed a beauty which went on to be acclaimed as the SPFL Goal of the Season.
There was an identical scoreline in the Scottish Cup quarter-final on March 14 last year when captain Callum McGregor got the ball rolling and Giorgos Giakoumakis joined in with a double.
And the Greek powerhouse was on target again with a whiplash header for the goal in the 1-1 draw on May 11 that saw the Hoops reclaim the title and hand Postecoglou a championship crown in his debut campaign.
The feelgood factor still surrounded the vicinity in August when the visitors ran amok to win 9-0 for their biggest-ever away victory in the Premiership. Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada each claimed a hat-trick on a memorable afternoon.
Postecoglou insists his players will have to earn everything they get from tomorrow’s 4pm kick-off against Liam Fox’s team.
The Greek-Australian said: “Even in that 9-0 game, we only scored our second goal in the 40th minute, so we had to work hard on that day, too.
“We had to work hard to get our dominance and it will be no different this week.
“We’ve done that in every game where we go out there and try and put our authority on it, play our football and put the opposition under pressure home and away.
“Sometimes it doesn’t yield results like that one, but it doesn’t mean we’re not as dominant in other games.
“Dundee United, under Liam, have improved since then in their understanding of how they want to play and they look a lot more settled as a side.
“Since the break, they’ve come back a lot more consistent in their form and their results, so for us we know it’s a challenge, but we know we’ve been good and we want to continue that.”
The manager confirmed crocked defenders Greg Taylor and Cameron Carter-Vickers have overcome their injury problems and are in contention for places at Tannadice.
Postecoglou, speaking to Celtic TV, added: “Greg has had a full week of training and Cameron is back with a full week of training, so they are good to go.
“Anthony Ralston is coming along and is the only one in rehab and training separately from the group, but we’re confident he will be able to join in during the next week or so.”
