Celtic head into Scottish Cup duty this Sunday, with their part-time opponents five leagues below them. Top-scorer Benjamin Nygren has weighed in on the fixture, determined to avoid a giant-killing in the fourth round.
The Swede scored the only goal of the game as the Hoops beat Falkirk in a narrow contest. Far from their best, the players pulled through to make it back-to-back wins and clean sheets under Martin O’Neill.
The Irishman returns for a second interim spell, aiming to instil confidence into a team that looked lost without his guidance.
Auchinleck Talbot are their next opponents. The Ayrshire side currently competes in the West of Scotland Premier Division, where they sit second.
With Celtic clearly heavy favourites, Nygren is determined to show their opponents respect, treating it like any other game. He said (RecordSport):
“No matter what team you play, you always need to be professional. Myself and all of the players, for sure the older ones, have played many of these games.
“You know it’s their biggest game of the year and they will give more than everything. Even though it’s a semi-professional team, we still have to do a good performance and show how much better we are.
“I always want to do good individually, but it’s a team sport. The most important thing is for us to win the league and be first in the league. We’re not at the moment, but you need to score goals to win games.”
Since the midfielder arrived from Nordsjaelland in the summer for around £1.5 million, he’s registered 18 goal contributions in 33 appearances; he’s also second in the Premiership scoring charts.
It’s fair to say he’s divided opinion. Not the most pleasing on the eye when he receives the ball, but he often appears in dangerous areas ready to tuck away a chance. That sort of game-awareness is key to any side.
Sunday’s fixture against Talbot will be played at Kilmarnock’s Rugby Park with a 5.30pm kick off time, shown live on Premier Sports.
