Aberdeen are going in search of what would be their first back-to-back wins against the Old Firm in 30 years – but Dons manager Mark McGhee believes Celtic will be a tougher nut to crack at Parkhead tomorrow.
The Dons became the first team to defeat Rangers in domestic football this season when they beat the Light Blues 1-0 at Pittodrie last Saturday. The Hoops await tomorrow and McGhee has the chance to give the club something it has not achieved since 1979.
McGhee himself scored the winning goal at Parkhead all those years ago, but he has stressed the difficulty his team faces in trying to repeat the feat.
He said: “The type of football Celtic played here on the opening day of the season makes it difficult for teams and, if you are not disciplined and allow yourself to be pulled about the field, they can punish you with the likes of Scott MacDonald.
“Rangers tend to be that little bit more direct. They don’t play as much football as Celtic. They don’t move it side to side and prefer to go back to front.
“As much as I can’t separate them in terms of who will win the title, Celtic are the much more difficult opponent for us, given their style, than Rangers are at the moment.”
Winning in Glasgow was a regular occurrence for McGhee when he wore Aberdeen’s colours under Alex Ferguson’s guidance.
He believes his players must handle the fear factor involved in big occasions like the one they face at Celtic Park tomorrow.
McGhee added: “You have to perform in Glasgow, not just from the point of view of taking points but also from the self-belief winning there gives you.
“You have to make a win there the start of something.
“We have improved greatly since the first day of the season and Celtic will have to play well to beat us.
“That’s what I was hoping for last Saturday against Rangers. I wanted Rangers to have to play well if they were going to beat us.
“We have no fear of losing. If we lose we will go on to the next game. We are not going into Saturday thinking we must win.
“If we play well we may catch them the way we caught Rangers, but it is a more difficult game at the moment for us regardless of Celtic’s form.
“They disposed of St Mirren comfortably last Saturday and, until recently, I have not been sure there is much of a difference between teams such as St Mirren and ourselves. We have to go out there and prove there is a difference.”
Jerel Ifil, Andy Considine, Sone Aluko and Fraser Fyvie will be assessed today but Zander Diamond will not be risked – despite returning to training on Monday.